All Is Violent, All Is Bright
by rendezvoushero
Summary: Severus Snape is returning to Hogwarts for his 6th year, still wounded by the loss of his friend, Lily Evans. A fellow Slytherin, seeking assistance with Potions, enters his life, perhaps for the better.
1. Dark Rift

**1. Dark Rift**

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><p><em>"<em>_I'm sorry."_

_"__I'm not interested."_

_"__I'm sorry!"_

_"__Save your breath."_

Severus Snape sighed and stared at the skylight, through the antiquated glass to the stars above. He hadn't moved from this position for most of the day, watching as the day slowly faded into night. In fact, he hadn't made much of an effort to move from his bed for much of the week, his thoughts constantly overtaking the need to perform any day to day rituals, eating or showering among them. Stale water sat in a glass on the dark bedside table, untouched, unmoving.

He had moved out of his parents' home as soon as he returned from Hogwarts for the summer, determined not to spend another school break listening to the endless arguments and shattering glass from his drunk Muggle father and incompetent witch mother. Neither had taken much notice when he magicked his entire bedroom into a small trunk using an undetectable extension charm and left the house the same morning as he returned. He knew he would inherit the house, and all of the possessions stored within; what did it matter if he lived there now? All he wanted was silence, and to be left in peace.

Severus still couldn't believe what he had called Lily Evans. How could he? Lily, of all people! She was, of course, the exception to his rule about cavorting with Muggle-borns, but there was very good reason for that exception: he was crazy about her. And for most of their fifth year, he thought that maybe, finally, she was starting to come around. The hugs were becoming more frequent; she was beginning to be less secretive about studying with him on the lawn in front of the lake. Yet she still spent time with Potter – more time than Severus was at all comfortable with. Once or twice he tried to drop hints, but she never cared. She politely reminded Severus on more than one occasion that she was free to befriend whom she wanted; Severus did not have to come along when she went to join the Marauders on one of their adventures. He was perfectly fine with that, but secretly wished she would just abandon the group all together.

Perhaps it wouldn't have been such a big deal if the word had slipped out just between the two of them; maybe she would have given him a chance to better explain himself. But James had been there, along with Sirius and Remus (Peter was probably lurking about somewhere, anxious to get in on the action but unwilling to actually participate) and about half a dozen other students. Gathering them all up to perform one large and exceedingly dangerous Memory charm on them would be impossible. They all heard what Severus had called Lily.

_Mudblood_.

He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing back another barrage of tears. He was sick of crying over the incident. He had been a fool for caring about her. All those years ago, when he told her as children that being Muggle-born didn't matter, he had meant it. What had changed? He felt a constant need to be around her and to make her realize he was a good person; and yet at the same time, he felt equally pressed to prove to his fellow Slytherins that he belonged. Especially to some of the older students, like Lucius and Bellatrix; he knew if he remained on their good side, he would always be protected and praised.

Maybe over the summer she would come around, he thought hopefully. Maybe an owl would come his way, telling him it was alright, that she forgave him, that things could go back to the way they were before that day in June. When he opened his eyes again, he felt slightly rejuvenated. He pulled himself out of bed and went to the ramshackle table in the center of his flat, scrawling down a list of ingredients. He wasn't going to spend the whole summer moping around. Professor Slughorn had informed him of what books he would need for his sixth year Advanced Potions course; today he would begin practicing the different brews, perfecting them and making the necessary changes in his textbook. When school started up again, he would be ready.

Severus' flat was a studio on the top floor of a Muggle apartment building two blocks from the Leaky Cauldron, and the secret neighborhood of Diagon Alley. He wasn't happy about living in Muggle London, but unfortunately he had very little of his own money, making his current residence the only option he could take. Luckily, the lanky 16 year old didn't own many things; other than his bed, clothes, school supplies, and his owl, the apartment was relatively bare. His school robes were hanging in the tiny closet near his bed, while the rest of his clothes remained in his trunk. Lists of ingredients were tacked up on the wall around the small kitchenette, and his cauldron was resting on a stool next to the table. The outside of the cauldron was nicked and buffed, signs of constant use; the inside was scrubbed clean, the mark of a caring Potions student who understood the importance of always having a pristine cauldron ready.

The brown barn owl hooted softly from the corner of the flat as Severus double checked his potions book for any missing ingredients. Confident that he had written everything down, he stripped off the clothes he had been wearing for the past week and made his way to the shower, the cold water hitting him like a brick to the face. He let it wash over him, soaking his inky black hair as he quickly ran soap over his body. As he stepped out, he caught his reflection in the mirror. Perpetually sunken eyes, an unfortunate trait inherited from his father; he was tall and lanky, but not very well built (something he planned on taking care of). After another moment of pointless gawking, he scoffed and walked back to the main room, quickly toweling off and pulling on his Muggle clothes. Because he was not of age, Apparating to the Leaky Cauldron was out of the question; however, walking the two blocks in wizarding robes wasn't worth the stares he knew he would get. As he made his way to the door, he grabbed his coin purse and the list of ingredients from the table, and left his flat.

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><p>As the summer progressed, Severus buried himself deeper into his studies. Technically he wasn't even supposed to be practicing magic outside the walls of Hogwarts; if the trace picked up any use of high-level magic, he could be expelled, the last thing he wanted. But if he didn't keep himself busy with <em>something<em>, he knew he would go mad. Nothing had come from Lily Evans yet; only an owl from his mother questioning his decision to move out, and his list of supplies for the coming term from the school. Towards the middle of August, he had decided to send an owl himself, apologizing once again to Lily for his behavior and promising to make amends in whatever way she saw fit. Not even a howler appeared in return, only silence. It was killing him, hardening his heart. A few times, he had to scrap entire potions and start from the beginning, because a tear would slip from his face into the cauldron and ruin the entire experiment. He felt incredibly weak, something he did not enjoy at all.

One night, he managed to slip out of a Muggle convenience store with a small bottle of liquor, which he quickly drained as soon as he returned home in hopes that it might calm him down; instead, it only made him angrier and more desperate to perfect his potion-making skills. When he woke up the next morning to discover he had shattered the empty bottle and torn half of his recipes off the wall sometime in the course of the evening, he decided to stay away from the Muggle alcohol. It didn't help that his father was constantly drunk; he should have remembered what his parents' house looked like after a night of dear old dad hitting the bottle.

He made haste in Diagon Alley when he when to pick up his remaining school supplies, most of which had to be bought second-hand. With his remaining time, he ducked around a corner and through an archway, emerging into Knockturn Alley, home of the more unpleasant side of magical dealings and wares. Many of his potions called for elements that he could not purchase at the apothecary in Diagon Alley, but Knockturn Alley was a different story. With his supplies bought and his rucksack near to bursting, Severus made his way back to his flat. When he glanced at the clock, it read only 7pm. He didn't care that it was early, or that he had yet to eat dinner – he no longer wanted to be awake. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into his bed, willing sleep to take him over.

The following morning, Severus was awoken a horrific screeching, coming from inside his flat. His ebony eyes shot open as he sat up and realized that his owl and another were having a small spat over…well, he wasn't quite sure, and he honestly didn't care. His heart leapt at the possibility than Lily had finally replied to his letter. He didn't recognize the owl as hers; when it nipped at his finger and turned its head to its leg to suggest payment, he realized she must have used a post owl. Odd, he thought, as he tore into the letter. But as soon as he viewed the script, he knew it was not from Lily. Her fine handwriting was instantly recognizable to him; the words could not have been written by her. Suppressing the rejection he felt beginning to swell inside him, he read the letter:

_Severus,_

_This owl was sent later than originally intended, but I wanted to extend my thanks for your assistance this past term with Potions. My parents have been on my case for some time about getting my marks up, and with your help I passed my O.W.L.S. and made my father quite proud. I'm hoping we can continue to work together this coming term._

_Looking forward to seeing you in September,_

_Isadora Starbuck_

_6__th__ year, Slytherin House_

He stared at the letter and read it over again, incredibly confused. He had helped someone with potions last term? As he searched his mind, he vaguely remembered the faces of a few Slytherin students he had consented to helping after Professor Slughorn had made the suggestion that some in his house weren't taking Potions seriously enough. But who this girl in particular was, he had no idea. His ego accepted her thanks (he was well in the mood for any ego boost at this point), and with that he tossed the letter aside. If he couldn't remember who she was, she clearly wasn't _that_ important of a student.

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><p>The next few days consisted of packing his school supplies into his trunk and cleaning his flat before moving his belongings back to his parent's house (no use in keeping the flat during the school year). As he collected papers from around the apartment, he came across the letter from Adrienne Starbuck. He hadn't thought much on it, but he still couldn't place a face to the name.<p>

_Might as well keep the damn thing_, Severus thought, and crammed the parchment in with the rest of his loose papers.

Eventually, all of his things were packed and ready to go, and the morning of September 1st, he was pushing his trunk and owl cage on a trolley through the barrier at King's Cross Station to Platform 9 ¾. As soon as he emerged on the other side and his ears were filled with the cacophony of students and parents, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He knew he would have to deal with Potter and the others eventually, and at some point Lily as well; but anything beat returning to the house he grew up in. Hogwarts had become his home.

As he pushed the trolley towards the pile of trunks waiting to be loaded, Severus saw a flash of brilliant red hair. He felt his throat constrict as Lily Evans walked swiftly by him. She turned her head slightly, barely acknowledging his presence, before running off to join her friends as they boarded the train.

It felt as if someone had punched him repeatedly in the gut. He had been denying it all summer in hopes that she was waiting to forgive him in person instead of through post; but there it was, plain as day. An interest in the Dark Arts she could deal with; snide remarks about other Gryffindors she was willing to tolerate; but racist remarks about Muggle-born witches, she would not accept. There would be no forgiveness this time. He had finally crossed the line, and pushed her away for good. He stared off after her, losing himself in thoughts of jumping onto the train tracks as the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station, until the whistle from the train pulled him back to the present, and he boarded – alone.


	2. First Day of Sun

A/N: Hey guys! This chapter introduces my original character. Also I realized I forgot to put a disclaimer on the last chapter, so (not that it really needs saying, but) I DON'T OWN SNAPE. Sadly. Happy reading, and thanks for any and all reviews, faves, etc! :D

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><p><strong>2. First Day of Sun<strong>

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><p>Isadora Starbuck noticed Severus as she came through the portal to Platform 9 ¾, watching him stare off down to some unknown distraction, his trunk and owl sitting next to him on the borrowed trolley. His face was pallid and blank, almost as if he had just lost something dear to him.<p>

_What did he have that was ever so dear?_ she wondered as she helped her father heave her trunks off her own trolley and into the loading pile closest to her.

She noticed her father's mouth moving, but at that exact moment the train shot out a warning whistle, signaling that all students should be on board the train. "What did you say? I couldn't hear you," she shouted.

"I asked you if you had your ring," he said coolly, his dark eyes glinting maliciously.

Isadora rolled her violet eyes and waved her hand in her father's face. "You may have well just cursed it to never be removed from my finger 'til I die or have a kid, you know," she snapped.

Zachary Starbuck smirked at his only daughter and patted her gently on the shoulder. "I do not want you losing that ring," he said quietly as they walked to one of the doors of the train. "It has been in our family –"

"For generations, I know, dad. You've told me countless times," she sighed. The Hogwarts Express whistled impatiently, as many other students had yet to climb onto the train. "I'm going inside. Callum and Scarlett are probably looking for me."

She hugged her father tightly; as rude as they were to one another, their love was quite deep. Isadora's mother, Adelaide, worked for the Ministry of Magic, in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and was often late coming home from the office. Her work schedule resulted in Isadora and her father developing a better relationship than she and her mother; Zachary quite frequently taught Isadora various spells and incantations with which she could show off at Hogwarts without running the risk of being in any serious trouble with the headmaster.

"Darling," Zachary said quietly, holding tight to his daughter's arm, "please remember to personally thank Severus for assisting you with Potions last year. You owe him quite a bit of gratitude, considering we were all rather worried you wouldn't pass your O.W.L.S at the start of last term."

Isadora sighed and cocked her head to the side, staring at her father. "Yes, sir," she said; with a squeeze of her arm he let her go, and she wandered into the small corridor of the train.

Isadora had never been very good with Potions; her specialties had always laid in Transfiguration and Astronomy. The first four years of her career at Hogwarts, she always returned home with top marks in all of her classes, except for Potions, which she usually ended up ranking rather low. Against her wishes, her father had written to Professor Slughorn at the end of fourth year to request that Isadora receive tutoring lessons from any student the professor thought would better her chances of scoring high on her O.W.L.S. When a reply was sent, Isadora learned she would be joining a small study group Slughorn was planning on setting up, to be taught by his prized pupil, Severus Snape. For an unexplained reason, the name of her new tutor sent Zachary on a weekend journey to Wiltshire, in the southwest; when he returned, he seemed excited, yet calm, and would not tell Isadora the reason behind these emotions.

"Isadora!"

She turned her head and saw two of her housemates, Callum Bradford and Scarlett Holmes, standing in front of what appeared to be an unoccupied compartment. She made her way down the corridor towards them, not before sneering into the compartment of a group of first-years, who shied away from the door at her glance.

"Summer go alright?" Scarlett asked as they shut the door behind her.

Isadora shrugged as she fixed her hair. Jet black and long, she usually kept it up in a tight bun that rivaled that of Professor McGonagall; however, her fringe was never cooperative, and always ended up falling gently into her face. "Mother was rarely around. Couldn't begin to understand why," she said in a rather bored tone. "Father insisted I take flying lessons again, so that took up the majority of my time. And we had yet another visit from Lucius Malfoy."

"Really?" Callum whispered, leaning across the compartment so they didn't have to speak so loud. "About what?"

Isadora smirked, her eyes gleaming in the soft light that filtered through the compartment window. "I can't be completely sure, but I think it had something to do with the Dark Lord," she explained in a hushed voice.

Scarlett gasped and stared, wide-eyed, as the door slid open and two more fellow Slytherins poked their heads into the compartment. Erik Strathborne, a seventh year, and Jason Rochefort, a sixth year like the rest of them, leaned against the doorjamb and grinned at all of them.

"Can we help you, gentlemen?" Isadora sneered, irritated by the interruption of privacy.

Erik's eyes widened and he glared at Isadora. "Watch your attitude, Starbuck. Remember who you're talking to, here," he said, pointing to the badge pinned to his robes. "Head boy, you see."

Isadora stared at Erik, unimpressed by this apparent achievement. "Head boy of a house where the only thing that elevates your rank is how willing you are to torment other students? Interesting." She looked at her fingernails, as if the conversation was too below her to continue. She could hear Strathborne huff as he marched away.

Jason Rochefort remained in the doorway, staring absentmindedly at Scarlett, whose face was beginning to live up to her name. Isadora couldn't help but laugh. Everyone in Slytherin knew how badly Jason had it for Scarlett; bets were placed at the beginning of every term to see whether or not he would finally get up the nerve to ask her out.

"I'm going to find the tea trolley," Callum said suddenly, looking pointedly at Scarlett. Her wide blue eyes silently thanked him for giving her an escape from the awkward gaze of Rochefort, and she followed him out of the compartment. Jason stood uneasily in the hall, glancing at Isadora and then down the hallway.

"If you're wondering whether or not to stay here, the answer is _no_," Isadora said in a warning tone. When he still did not budge, she glared up at him from behind her fringe, and Jason turned on his heel and trotted down the corridor, probably in an attempt to follow Callum and Scarlett.

Isadora sighed, relishing in the emptiness of the compartment. The train had finally made it to the countryside; rolling hills and wilderness swept past them. She cracked the window, allowing some crisp northern air to slip inside. She wished she could make this journey in peace every year, instead of being obliged to ride with at least two others beside her. Not that she didn't enjoy the company of her friends; Callum and Scarlett were two of the few Slytherin students she could really put up with on a daily basis. Usually at some point, Regulus Black would make his way to her compartment, and they would exchange pleasantries for a few minutes before he moved on. His visits always made her heart beat faster; though she knew they would never be together (he was one of the most attractive boys in her house, so of course had girls crawling all over him), she still enjoyed the fantasy.

Absentmindedly, she toyed with the ring on her left hand as she stared out the window. A gift from her father after hearing she had been sorted into Slytherin, the single snake winding its way around her finger was a family heirloom. Usually, the eldest sibling of the Starbuck house would be given the ring, as a symbol that they were to be respected by their younger siblings. Luckily for Isadora, she did not have that problem. Soon after Isadora was born, her mother had an unfortunate accident involving a broomstick and a copse of trees, and was deemed unfit to carry another child. This, in Isadora's mind, was one of the reasons there was such a rift between her parents; Zachary took his pureblood status very seriously, and while he loved his daughter dearly, had been hoping for a son somewhere down the line to carry on their blood. But as long as Isadora married well in the end, her father would still be satisfied. At least, she hoped.

A scuffle had broken out in the hallway; Isadora poked her head out of the compartment to briefly see the back of James Potter's head, surrounded by his fellow Gryffindors, as he was pulled away from what could have turned into a violent confrontation with Severus Snape. Isadora shook her head and closed the door, returning to her previous activity of staring blankly out the window. Why her father had asked her to write a letter to Severus was beyond her; she thought it entirely unnecessary to thank another student for doing a task assigned to him by a professor. Granted, his lessons had been quite instructive, and without his help she most certainly would have failed her exams. But the thought of thanking him was absurd!

She noticed Severus sulking down the hallway out of the corner of her eye. Remembering what her father had instructed her to do on the platform, she rose from her seat and called him to the compartment.

Snape slowly turned around and made his way back towards her, keeping a sharp eye out for the return of his rivals. "Yes?" he asked quietly, crossing his arms across his chest.

Isadora stared blankly at him, sizing him up. He certainly wasn't anything special to look at; his hooked nose and lank black hair kept him from being a decently attractive young man. His robes were obviously bought second-hand, which did not help his appearance at all. He wished to be taken seriously in his house, but instead was looked at as a second-rate Potions whiz, even if he _did_ know some pretty dark magic. "So I'm sure you're wondering why I wrote you this summer," she said offhandedly, leaning against the door.


	3. Dust & Echoes

**3. Dust & Echoes**

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><p>Isadora Starbuck was leaning against the doorjamb of her compartment, staring at him with a look of slight annoyance. He noticed that her school robes were draped along her frame in a way that complimented her body. She blew a strand of hair out of her face, which brought his attention back to her fey violet eyes. "So I'm sure you're wondering why I wrote you this summer," she said quietly.<p>

Severus nodded. "I will admit, Starbuck, I couldn't even remember who you were," he said with a sneer.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, then," she huffed, placing a hand on her hip. "Just so you're aware, I was coerced to write that letter at the request of my father."

_Wait, what?_ Severus narrowed his eyes at her, confused as to what she had just said. Why in the world would Zachary Starbuck, a well-known pureblood and supporter of the Dark Lord, demand that his daughter write to a fellow student to thank him for tutoring sessions? "I was unaware your father took any interest in me," he said, making sure his tone was bereft of any confusion.

"Well that certainly makes two of us, Severus," Isadora snorted. "Believe me, if it hadn't been for my father we wouldn't be speaking right now."

She obviously wasn't trying to hide her disregard for him. Severus couldn't believe the nerve of this girl, whom he barely knew, speaking to him this way – especially after all the slaving away he had done with her to make sure she understood precisely how to concoct even some of the simplest potions! "It's interesting, Isadora, that your father takes such a keen interest in pleasing me with his thanks, and yet you scoff at me as if I'm beneath you," he hissed, turning to the side as several students passed by him, quite possibly on their way to find the trolley. "I doubt he'd be happy to hear about your attitude when I write to tell him that mentoring his daughter was a pleasure."

The girl across from him emitted a haughty laugh as she pushed her coal-black fringe behind her ear. "Be my guest," she growled.

"Isadora?" a fellow Slytherin interrupted as he paused in front of the compartment. Severus recognized him as Callum Bradford; he was taking a keen interest in Potions and frequently worked at the station across from Snape in class, double checking his work with Severus to make sure he was doing everything correctly. "Everything alright?" Callum asked.

Before Isadora had a chance to speak, Severus took the opportunity to make his exit. "I was just leaving, in fact," he muttered, and turned to continue back to his compartment towards the front of the train.

"Severus!" He heard the light patter of feet coming up behind him; as he turned, Isadora was approaching him with a look of contempt.

"What is it now?" he sighed. All he wanted was to return to his compartment and sulk in silence. The only reason he had been out in the hallways to begin with was to find the trolley and grab a chocolate frog to keep him satisfied until the feast.

Violet eyes bored into him from beneath obsidian hair – somehow every time she moved, Isadora's fringe abandoned her and swung out in front of her face. "Look," she whispered, "I'm not happy about this at all. In fact it's rather embarrassing that I had to attend tutoring sessions. But now my father wants me to continue attending sessions, even though I tried telling him that you weren't hosting them again since sixth year tends to pile on the work." She said all this incredibly fast, as if she was ashamed to be admitting to it at all.

Snape's arms crossed his chest again as he considered Isadora. "That is correct, I won't be tutoring anymore. But Professor Slughorn will probably –"

"My father doesn't want Slughorn, he wants _you_," Isadora said in a hushed voice, her cheeks slightly red.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "That's rather interesting. What does he expect me to do, be your private tutor for the whole term?" At this, Isadora stared at him, a look somewhere between rage and apology. "You have got to be kidding me," Severus mumbled.

"Believe me, Snape, I'm not happy about it either. If you want I can have him write to you directly," she said, finally speaking in a normal tone.

Severus shook his head and said quietly, "That won't be necessary. I know who your father is, I've heard the stories. I'd rather be on his good side suffering with you as a pupil than on his bad side."

A quiet laugh escaped Isadora's lips; he noticed how pretty she looked when she wasn't sneering at him. "I appreciate it. I'll try not to be a burden," she said sarcastically.

"I doubt you'll be able to avoid it," Severus said offhandedly. With that, Isadora returned to her usual indignant state, folding her arms across her chest and leering coldly at him.

"My father wants a tutoring schedule by the end of the week," she huffed, and marched back down the hallway, slamming the compartment door shut behind her.

_Finally_, Severus thought as he hung his head and returned silently to his compartment. Once the door was shut, he removed the outermost layer of his robes and rolled up the sleeve of his right arm. Moments before Isadora asked to speak to him, Potter and Black had decided it was time to begin their year-long obsession with torturing Severus to within an inch of his sanity. Enraged at Potter for finally securing a date with Lily Evans for the start of term, Severus had swung a fist in the direction of Potter's face, but managed to knock Remus Lupin to the ground instead. James had quickly retaliated, getting a good hold on Severus' arm before Black pulled him away. Slight bruises in the shape of fingers were beginning to form on the Slytherin's lower arm; the first of many wounds to inevitably come this term.

Lily had passed him twice on the train since it left the station, and both times she made it quite clear that she was not going to acknowledge his apologies. He had thought about stepping out into the hallway and calling her name as she walked by, but did not want to deal with the agony of being ignored by the girl who up until last term had been his best friend…his _only_ friend. Severus slumped down onto the cushioned seat and sighed, unsure of what to do next. Surely by this point they were relatively near the castle; indeed, the train seemed to have slowed a bit.

It was rather curious, Severus thought, that Zachary Starbuck would take such a keen interest in having his daughter receive private potions lessons from him. His ego didn't mind – the fact that Starbuck was demanding Severus be the one to teach Isadora instead of a long-time professor was enough to fill Severus with pride. It was the one class in which he was able to truly show off his skills without getting in trouble for knowing too much Dark magic, like he would in Defense Against the Dark Arts. The way the ingredients worked together, how they needed to be added at the precise moment and at the exact temperature to avoid possible catastrophe – it all fascinated him, and put him completely in control. A hex or curse could be dodged; a carefully crafted potion could sometimes have no antidote.

He smirked under his stringy black hair, allowing himself a moment of pride now that he was safely within the confines of the compartment. It would have been even more flattering if Isadora herself had been the one requesting lessons, but as any Slytherin knew, they were all too proud to admit when they required assistance, in any subject. He tried to remember back to last year, to the potions study group where he apparently helped Isadora relearn everything she had been taught the previous four years. He could vaguely remember her face, and that once or twice her cauldron had come very close to dangerously exploding all over the dungeon. What Severus remembered the most from last year was working beside Lily Evans in Potions, secretly sharing smirks at each other as they watched others fail to accomplish their assigned tasks. Of course, Lily always tried to help other students; Severus would rather sit back and laugh at their failings. Lily would usually scold him the next chance she got for doing such things.

_Maybe it's for the best_, part of him thought with uncertainty. She had accused him of taking too keen an interest in the Dark Arts, which was obviously true; he hadn't tried to deny it. Many of his fellow Slytherins were thinking about taking the Dark Mark when they graduated, and becoming one of Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters. He was certainly interested; nobody matched his skill with potions, and he had been told recently by Lucius Malfoy that the Dark Lord had been hearing about Severus' talents.

"_Five minutes to Hogwarts_," the conductor's voice announced through the corridors of the train, knocking Snape out of his thoughts. He stood and checked himself in the dim reflection from the window, and began to gather his things from the compartment. Nothing could be seen out beyond the train, except for the faint outlines of gnarled tree branches.

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><p>Severus breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped through the doors to the entrance hall of Hogwarts. The looming castle had always felt more like home to him than Spinner's Place ever would; here he was (for the most part) accepted for who he was. There was no chance of his drunken father surprising him with a beating for unexplained reasons, no chance of watching Tobias Snape emotionally torture his mother.<p>

The shuffle of students into the Great Hall was one he looked forward to every September. Candles floated effortlessly above the four long tables that stretched the length of the hall as his fellow classmates filed in along their respective tables, divided by house. The enchanted ceiling reflected the weather outside, tonight a clear navy sky, dotted by hundreds of glittering stars. Severus was positive he would be perfectly happy sleeping under that ceiling every night if he had the chance.

The final straggling students made their way to their house tables and sat down, eagerly waiting for the feast to begin. Of course, before that could happen, the yearly Sorting had to occur. Several students groaned as the large group of first years made their way into the hall and stood in front of the high table; every year the Sorting Hat would come up with a new song, which would take at least five minutes to recite, followed by a very long, drawn-out sorting ceremony. Severus hoped this year's incoming Slytherin students weren't nearly as dim as last year's crop.

While the tattered old hat sang its new song, Severus found himself staring idly across the hall, searching for the fire-red hair and green eyes he knew so well. Instead, his eyes locked with the brown, spectacled eyes of James Potter, who was seated across from Lily. Potter smirked when he noticed Snape was staring at him, and made it obvious that he and Lily were holding hands from across the table. She must have realized what he was doing, for she turned around and glared at Severus briefly before dropping James' hand and focusing her attention on the ceremony occurring at the front of the hall.

A dragon rose up in Severus' chest, dying to be released. He clenched his fists under the table, chunks of fabric from his robes caught in his rage. A sneeze echoed from a few seats down the Slytherin table; he turned to glare at whoever it was that made the noise, seeking someone to exact his anger on. His eyes fell on Isadora, whose face had gone slightly red from the attention the sneeze had brought on her. He glared at her, silently telling her to shut up. She stuck her tongue out at him and smirked.

_Yeah, that's real mature_, he thought as he turned back to the head table. The sorting was apparently over; several new first years had filled the empty seats at the table. The children were being patted on the back and welcomed to the house with all the welcome a Slytherin was capable of delivering. One, he noticed, ended up sitting next to Isadora, who seemed all too eager to start initiating the first year into the house of Salazar.

"If I may have your attention for a moment," the voice of Albus Dumbledore echoed calmly as a hush fell over the students. "Let me first say, welcome back to what is sure to be another fantastic year at Hogwarts. We are quite happy to see all our old friends again, and equally as pleased to be welcoming new ones!" A light clap spread through the hall as he paused. "I just have a few words to say before we tuck in to our feast. As you are all by now aware, the wards around the castle have been increased dramatically since last term. You will find an expanded list of rules in your house common rooms – I urge each of you to follow these rules as they are placed for your protection. Dark forces are moving once again as we come together for another start of term, and I do not want to see any of my students falling into harm's way." With this comment he looked briefly at the Slytherin table; it was widely known that the majority of Voldemort's followers were recruited directly from Slytherin. "With that, please: eat!"

Severus admired Dumbledore for his constant vigilance when it came to protecting his students. It surely could not be easy to manage an entire school full of pupils whose magical talents ranged from the abysmal to the supreme, while also coordinating efforts with the Ministry of Magic to thwart the Dark Lord's plans.

"Did you see the way he looked at all of us when he said that last bit?" Colin Mace, a fellow sixth year, muttered to Severus as they began eating. "Who does he think he is?"

"Surely he's aware by now that he is headmaster," Snape replied dryly. "It'd be most unfortunate if he's only just discovering that fact now."

Colin shot his housemate a haughty look of derision as he shoveled food into his mouth. "There are rumors some of us are being recruited," he whispered. "Nobody knows who exactly, but apparently Lucius Malfoy has been sending out owls to prospective candidates, urging them to join when they graduate."

Severus stared blankly back at his classmate. Colin was horrible at trying to conceal when he wanted to know information; he certainly wasn't getting anything out of Snape tonight. The look in Colin's eyes was bordering on pleading. It was rather pathetic. "How interesting," Severus said, watching as the last remaining dinner faded away and was replaced by dessert.

"You'll be seventeen soon, right, Snape? You'll be able to join up before you've even graduated!" Colin said with excitement. Several students looked warily down the table, wondering what could have riled up the sixth year so much.

Severus glared at Colin as he muttered, "No, I do not believe the Dark Lord wants to risk Dumbledore catching any students being recruited. I haven't heard of anyone being allowed to join until they are a graduate of the school and free of its wards."

"But the trace lifts at –"

"Shut it, Colin!" Severus hissed. "What I plan on doing after seventh year is frankly none of your business." With that he rose from the table, taking a few pumpkin pasties with him, and stormed out to the entrance hall, where he made his way down to the dungeons. "Insufferable twit!" he muttered to himself as he walked down the empty passageways to the Slytherin common room. The heels of his shoes echoed loudly against the damp corridor; he muttered the password and dropped down onto one of the black leather lounge chairs. A fire was already burning in the fireplace, courtesy of the ever-present house elves.

He sat staring into the fire, watching it delicately lick the hood of the fireplace as it devoured the wood which gave it life. He loved when the common room was silent. He could actually think and get things done when there weren't dozens of students milling about. As he finished the pasty he had been munching on, he heard the faint echoes of feet against the stone floors. His silence was about to be interrupted. With a sigh, he tossed the remaining stolen pasties into the fire, and slunk down to the boy's dormitory, and to sleep.


	4. From Dust to Beyond

**4. From Dust to Beyond**

* * *

><p>"Honestly, Severus, we can't do this <em>any<em> earlier?" Isadora begged as she handed him several assorted potions ingredients from the storage cabinet near the classroom. "And why the _hell_ am I up here in a skirt while you're down there?"

She heard him chuckle as he organized the ingredients into a crate to be carried down the hallway. "You're the one that asked me to assign the tutoring schedule. Ask your friends to sneak down to the Hog's Head on a different night if you're so desperate to join them," he replied sarcastically. "And you're up there because you weren't pushed into the vanishing step at an odd angle."

Isadora rolled her eyes. "How is that my fault? So Potter and Black pick on you. You know more Dark Magic than the two of them combined! Get back at them!"

Severus sighed from below her; the clinking of bottles against one another stopped. She turned awkwardly on the rickety wooden ladder to look down at her tutor, who was leaning against the wall, staring at the floor.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly.

His onyx eyes snapped up to look at her. "Get the lacewing flies and we'll be through here," he muttered.

She quickly grabbed the small jar in front of her and came down the ladder, handing him the glass as she went.

They walked down the corridor in silence, past several students who were on their way to enjoy their free Friday evening. It was several weeks into term at this point. Snape had chosen the most inconvenient of times for Isadora's tutoring sessions; every Friday night, she and a few fellow Slytherin (and one or two Ravenclaws, if they could be convinced) would sneak through one of the secret passageways that lead from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade, the village at the bottom of the hill, to enjoy a few pints at the Hog's Head. This term, however, it seemed like Isadora would be unable to join the festivities. Snape had chosen Friday nights on purpose – she was sure of it.

Something had changed with him over the summer, but Isadora couldn't quite place what it was. He was angrier than usual. She knew his family life wasn't necessarily the best, but that never seemed to affect him at school. The Marauders, as they so fondly called themselves, hadn't boosted their regular wave of yearly torture any more than last year, which should have made Severus a bit more relaxed. Whatever it was, Isadora wasn't going to find out.

Severus placed the crate full of supplies on one of the lab tables and began methodically removing each of the bottles, arranging them alphabetically. When he was finished, he waved his wand and the crate vanished. Isadora carried one of the smaller cauldrons over to the work station and placed it carefully over the fire that had just been lit.

"What are you doing?" Severus asked coolly.

Isadora audibly groaned. "_Clearly_ something wrong, or you wouldn't be so quick to point it out!" She pulled the cauldron off the fire and slammed it onto the work table.

Snape did not retaliate, he simply raised an eyebrow and peered at her, menacingly. He was enjoying this.

"What is it, Severus?" she hissed. "What the hell is going on with you? The past month and a half all you've been doing is snapping at me for the smallest of things! If my parents heard about it, they might tell Lucius –" She threw a hand over her mouth, pissed that she had let that slip.

Now both of his eyebrows were raised. "Tell Lucius _what_, I might ask?" He slinked over to her until he was very much in her face – far too close for her own comfort. "What would your father possibly have to report to Lucius Malfoy about me?"

Isadora backed away from her classmate slowly. "Nothing, Sev. Forget I said it," she said quietly.

"I think that might be rather difficult for me to do, unfortunately." He was drumming his long, willowy fingers on the table impatiently.

"I'm not telling you, so you can stop trying to threaten me with that look," Isadora said forcefully. "We're supposed to be practicing potions, not seeing how long it will take you to scare me."

Severus laughed quietly and sneered at her. "Of course. Because what better things could I have to do on a Friday night than to teach the wonderful Isadora Starbuck the magic of potion making?" he quipped, and returned his gaze to the array of ingredients still lying on the table. "Let's try a wit-sharpening potion tonight, shall we?"

Isadora continued to glare at him, silently questioning whether his choice of concoction for the evening was a subtle jab at her abilities. She flipped through her potions book until she found the ingredients list, and reached across the table to find the scarab beetles, ginger root, and armadillo bile. She noticed as she was collecting these that Severus had requested she pull the lacewing flies from the storage room. Even she knew what potion called for those. "What could you possibly need lacewing flies for?" she asked.

Snape huffed as he reset her work station for her. "Professor Slughorn has asked me to begin preparing a Polyjuice Potion for our N.E.W.T level class. Why he's asking me to brew a whole vat of the stuff just to pour it down the drain at the end of the day is beyond me." He handed her a knife, blade first, and said, "You better start slicing that ginger root, you've still got the scarabs to deal with."

Shrugging off her outermost robes, Isadora rolled up her sleeves and set to carefully slicing the ginger root, her spine tingling as Severus hovered inches behind her, watching her every move. It was going to be a very long Friday night.

* * *

><p>Isadora barely made it to breakfast Monday morning. After several tedious Friday nights of potions brewing with Severus, Callum and Scarlett took it upon themselves to treat Isadora to a party of their own. Somehow they had managed to smuggle mead up from the kitchens, and the three of them stayed up in one of the empty dungeons until the wee hours of Sunday morning drinking. The rest of the day involved sleeping and frequent rushes to the lavatories.<p>

Her hair was a complete disaster, she realized as she ran past a suit of armor. At this point it didn't even matter, she didn't have any classes that would require her to have her hair out of her face anyway. She pulled the elastic out and let her dark hair drape around her shoulders as she raced into the Great Hall. Many students had already left, planning to be on time to class. Isadora plunked down in the first empty seat she found and quickly filled her plate with several slices of toast and a few lukewarm sausages. Her glass immediately filled with pumpkin juice, which she quickly drained.

An owl hooted from somewhere nearby; as she looked up she quickly recognized her family's tawny owl, Mab, soaring through an open window with a letter clenched in her beak. The bird landed next to her owner and hungrily picked at a piece of sausage as Isadora opened the envelope.

_Isadora,_

_Your father and I miss you terribly. We do hope you plan on returning home for the Christmas holidays; your aunt and uncle are planning on visiting and they have been asking about you nonstop since you went away to school._

_I had a run-in with Narcissa __Black__ Malfoy the other day, in Nocturne Alley. What a shame you weren't a few years older, you would have been such a brilliant partner for young Lucius Malfoy. However, my meeting with Narcissa got me to thinking – you and Regulus! Oh, darling, think of it, please. Your father and I would be so proud of you, matched with such a wonderful family as the Blacks. I believe you have told me on several occasions how much you fancy the young man. Might it not be time to act on that?_

_Please think on it._

_Love,  
><em>_Mother_

She wanted to scream. She tore the letter up and dropped the shredded remains into the empty goblet near her; pulling out her wand, she whispered,_ "Incendio__,"_ and watched as the parchment instantly caught on fire. Unfortunately she did not get much time to relish in the letter burning – the glass was soon full of more pumpkin juice, and the floating remains of her mother's correspondence.

How dare she! Isadora had admitted to fancying Regulus Black once, in third year. Never again had she spoken of the boy, who was a year younger than her and up to his eyeballs in Dark Magic. Not that the thought of dating him wasn't extremely alluring, but it seemed that every week Regulus had a new girl on his arm. She really had no interest in being the next flavor of the week.

"Hello there," a smooth voice said from behind her. Isadora froze; Regulus slid into the seat next to her, which had apparently emptied since she read her mother's letter.

"Regulus!" she squeaked, her face flushing. "I didn't see you on the train. I was looking forward to our yearly catch-up." She tried to appear calm, but could not stop thinking about how wretched her hair must have looked.

The young man smiled. He certainly didn't appear to be a year her junior. His dark hair was neatly trimmed, and he was sporting some incredibly attractive stubble this term. The top buttons of his robes were unbuttoned; Regulus Black managed to work the disheveled look incredibly well. "Yeah, well, you know how it goes. So many people to catch up with, can't find them all on the train at once," he said quietly.

"Right, of course," Isadora mumbled. Underneath the table her hands were shaking. "How was your summer, anyway?"

Regulus shrugged. "Nothing special. Fought with Sirius, as usual. Spent most of my time with Bellatrix and Rodolphus. Oh, and I met this girl, a pureblood, obviously, she's a fourth year Ravenclaw…" his voice trailed as he stared out the window, lost in thought.

Isadora raised a curious eyebrow at him as he continued to stare out into the rain hammering against the glass. "Well, she sounds…fantastic," she managed to say.

He looked back at her, his eyes a misty blue-grey. "Yeah, she's great. Anyway, I've got to run, class starts in a few minutes. Nice talking to you," he said quietly, winking at her as he headed for the doors.

Isadora stared after him. Part of her was thrilled; if Regulus was seeing someone then there was no way she could go through with her mother's plot. Another part of her was, once again, crushed to see him with another girl. It felt like a hurricane was making its rounds in her heart. She leaned over the table and gently hit her head against the wooden surface before rising, gathering her book bag, and followed the last remaining students out into the entrance hall and up to Transfiguration.


	5. In The Distance Fading

**5. In The Distance Fading**

* * *

><p>Severus watched from the far end of the table as Regulus Black left Isadora alone, swaggering to the entrance hall. He heard a faint <em>thump<em> as Isadora hit her head on the table, seemingly on purpose, before rising and exiting the hall as well.

_Well, that was interesting,_ he thought as he collected his things and raced up to the Transfiguration classroom, steps behind Isadora. He closed the heavy wooden door behind him and took his seat at the back of the class as Professor McGonagall began her lecture on vanishing spells.

Usually, Isadora's hair matched that of Professor McGonagall: a tight bun at the back of her head. Today, however, Severus noticed a marked difference. Instead of staring at the back of Starbuck's neck, he was staring into long tendrils of jet black hair. He smirked – between the incident with Regulus and her hair being completely disheveled, something was clearly going on, and Severus was not about to let it go.

He couldn't pay very much attention in class; his notes frequently stopped mid-sentence as he drifted off, his eyes wandering around the room, usually coming to a stop on the enormous windows looking out over the hill and the lake below. It was a beautiful day out, one of the last for a while, he was sure. November at Hogwarts never stayed pleasant for very long.

Before he realized it, class had ended, and instead of his usual four or five pages, Severus had only taken two pages of incoherent notes. He would have to borrow from someone else or copy directly from the book if he was to remember any of the lesson. He followed the rest of the class back out into the hallway and down the stairs through the castle. Most of the Slytherins were headed back to the common room in the dungeons, although a few of them disappeared out into the courtyard to enjoy their double break before lunch. Severus realized he had plenty of time to go to the library and then head outside to torment Isadora.

Since his third year, Severus had become extremely interested in learning the powers of Occlumency and Legilimency; to Muggles, the ability to read minds. It wasn't considered a dark power, but he was having great difficulty finding any information on the subject in the regular sections of the school library. Towards the end of third year he was forced to go to Professor Slughorn, head of Slytherin house, to request permission to access the Restricted Section. He claimed it was so he could become better studied in the art of potion making, so much of which was hidden away in the ancient tomes hidden in the restricted area of the Hogwarts library. While, every time, Severus exited the library carrying a potions book, he also left carrying several pages of notes on learning how to control one's mind.

He slipped through the entrance to the library, quickly surveying the study area to make sure Potter, Black, or Lupin were sulking around, trying to accomplish something. He saw a flash of red hair and immediately froze; when the girl turned around it was a first year Ravenclaw. Severus' heartbeat slowed as he marched down the main aisle, back towards the gate to the Restricted Section, where Madam Pince, the old crone of a librarian, met him to check his pass.

"Do we really have to keep playing this whole 'check the pass' game, Madam Pince?" he asked lazily as he handed her the mangled scrap of parchment with Professor Slughorn's authorization scrawled across it. "I've only had permission to access the Restricted Section for three years now."

The librarian raised her thin eyebrows. "You will continue showing me that pass until you graduate, Mr. Snape," she snapped. "Unless you are a professor of this school, you will _always_ need permission to access these books." She handed the parchment back to him and tapped the gate with her wand; it swung open and allowed him to enter the quietest section of the library. As soon as his book bag reached the other side of the gate, it swung shut again, locking with a magical click.

Severus waited in the potions section until the crone had made her way back to the circulation desk towards the front of the library before sneaking back to where he knew most of the books on Occlumency to be kept. Unfortunately, most of the books he had already been through at least twice; he wasn't going to get much new information from here. One book, a tattered grey spine with silver lettering, he had yet to look in; he pulled it out and wrote down as much information as he needed before slipping it back into place and rushing back to the potions section. Without so much as a glance he took a book from the shelf and walked back to the gate, which allowed him to exit.

"That was rather fast," Madam Pince noted as she stamped the book for him at the desk.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, I knew what I was looking for," he answered dryly. When she handed the book back to him he stuffed it into his back and quickly exited, making a beeline for the entrance hall.

Outside the sun was shining. There was a slight nip to the air; Severus pulled his house scarf out of his bag and wrapped it tightly around his neck, clutching his robes around him as he headed down towards the lake. Dozens of students were out enjoying the day, lounging in the grass and gossiping with friends. He slowed and searched the slope near the lake until he spotted Scarlett and Isadora, lying on the lawn. Scarlett looked like she could have been asleep.

"Isadora," he muttered as he came to stand next to her.

She looked up and squinted at him. "Oh, hullo, Severus," she said quietly.

"May I sit?"

"Um…yeah, sure." She moved her bag so he could take the spot of grass next to her. The ground beneath him felt cold and hard. "Looks like you've got a rather large book in your bag," she said with a yawn, pointing to the stretching fabric of his book bag and the dark spine poking out from the top.

Severus nodded as he tried pushing the book further into his bag. "Trying to stay on top of potions for the term," he lied. "Got it out of the Restricted Section."

Isadora's violet eyes widened. "How'd you manage that?" she asked incredulously. It seemed like she had just woken up: her eyes were bloodshot and she kept rubbing them as she yawned again.

He laughed. "Slughorn wrote me a note in third year for access. Every time the parchment looks like it's about to come apart, I repair it slightly and hand it to Madam Pince as if he gave it to me weeks ago," he explained in a hushed voice, keeping an eye on Scarlett in case she woke up.

"Don't worry, she's completely knocked out," Isadora said, noticing where his eyes kept wandering. "We were all up pretty late Saturday night…and last night…" her voice faded as a hint of regret came over her. "I swear we all take sleep for granted when we're this young."

"Indeed," Severus answered bluntly, fully aware of why she was awake all night.

"That can't be the only reason you were in the Restricted Section, though," she pushed, a smirk crossing her lips.

He chuckled and brushed a strand of hair out of his face. "I suppose I can trust you," he said. "I've been teaching myself Occlumency."

"No way," Isadora gasped. "Is that even allowed?"

"I haven't been told otherwise," Severus replied with a shrug. "Besides, it's not considered a dark art. Learning to protect one's mind from the intrusions of others is something every witch and wizard should be taught."

"Well, that might be true, but," Isadora paused as Scarlett rolled over. Her friend's eyes were still shut, her breathing still heavy: definitely still asleep. "Merlin's beard, that girl could sleep through a dragon attacking the castle." She shook her head and turned back to Severus. "How long have you been doing this, anyway?"

"Since third year. I think I've got the hang of it, although Legilimency is a bit easier to work than Occlumency," he explained. It was odd; he had only known Isadora a few months, but he felt very easy around her, like he wasn't going to be judged or ridiculed like he was with other Slytherin students. The only person he ever truly felt relaxed around was Lily, and this was nothing like being around her. When he was with Lily, his heart sang; he felt like he could take on the entire world single-handed, as long as she was by his side to smile at him. He certainly didn't feel the same way around Isadora…but it was nice to feel like he finally had a friend again. It helped that she wasn't offended whenever he mentioned the Dark Arts.

Isadora studied him for a minute, her eyes seeming to trace over his whole face. "Can you tell me what I'm thinking right now?" she asked with a laugh.

"It's a bit more complicated than that," he answered. "But…if I were to use Legilimency on you right now..." He paused and stared into her eyes, coal meeting violet, as a grin came over his face. "I would see you being horrifically embarrassed by something Regulus Black said to you earlier this morning."

He watched, triumphant, as her face flushed deep red, her mouth hanging open and her eyes reduced to mere slits as she glared daggers him. "You saw that?" she hissed, punching him gently on the shoulder.

"I felt compelled to bring it up," he said with a chuckle as she buried her face in her hands. "What exactly happened? You looked pretty –"

"Mortified?" she finished with a sigh. She double checked to see that Scarlett wasn't eavesdropping before continuing. "You are not to repeat this to _anyone_, or I will stuff you in a cauldron on Friday and you will never see your Hogwarts diploma," she threatened.

Severus placed a hand over his heart, as if to say he swore he would never say a word.

"In third year I told my mother I had a crush on Regulus Black," she started. He held back a snort as she glared at him. "I never mentioned it again, because it's Black, and even from his first year he was a huge flirt. But my lovely mother has taken it upon herself to play matchmaker for me, and is pushing me to date Regulus…I'm assuming so I can eventually marry him."

Severus didn't think it was possible for her face to get any redder, but it did. "Why does your mother care who you marry?" he asked, although he felt he already knew the answer.

"You know my family, Sev. We're purebloods. Why do you think they want me to marry Black?" she said with venom. "Honestly, I don't care who I marry. Or if I ever marry. It's not something I'm interested in at this moment, and yet it's all my parents can think about. At least my father doesn't jam it down my throat every chance he gets."

He remembered with a pang the day he told Lily it didn't matter what her blood was, where she came from. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that," he said quietly.

"Thanks," Isadora muttered through another yawn.

Scarlett slowly sat up next to Isadora, staring bleary-eyed across the lake. "Hello, Severus," she said warily.

He smirked. He and Isadora had been spending every Friday night together since the start of term (except for Quidditch nights, when she was down on the pitch and he was holed up in the dormitory, entirely uninterested), and had been exchanging pleasantries in the corridors and common room when not in tutoring sessions. While they had started out constantly snapping at each other, their combined bite had lessened considerably since September. He even found himself laughing and smiling on occasion when he was with her. Yet her other friends still couldn't accept him.

"I had better be going," he said quietly, brushing himself off as he stood up.

"Oh, well, if you insist," she answered. He didn't have to use Legilimency to see that she had been enjoying their conversation and was slightly sad to see it end. "I'll be going to the library tonight to study, if you'll be around and want to join."

He nodded and pulled his cloak around him in the wind. "I'll consider it. See you in class, at the very least," he said quietly.

"Later."

He turned and walked back up the hill, into the biting wind that had suddenly picked up. What did he care if Scarlett Holmes and Callum Bradford didn't like the fact that Isadora was hanging around with him? Neither of them were particularly bright for their class, nor did they act like Slytherins very often. At least Isadora had some spunk in her; every once in a while he saw her talking down to first and second years, especially to Gryffindors. One morning he had overheard a Muggle-born Ravenclaw first-year ask her about her last name (apparently it was the name of a character in a rather famous Muggle novel about a white whale) and saw Isadora almost leap down his throat for mentioning it. He wasn't ashamed to admit he was proud of his friend for standing up for her wizarding blood, even if she normally acted like she didn't care.

As he made his way up the stone steps of the castle, the wind became even stronger; he turned to look out across the school grounds and watched as several other students began to gather their things and make their way back to the school. The sky was beginning to darken.

_Storm's coming_, he thought as he went inside.


	6. Beyond the Dying Light

**6. Beyond the Dying Light**

* * *

><p>Isadora and Scarlett ended up leaving the lake quicker than they had been planning. Soon after Severus had taken his leave, storm clouds had rolled in, and a rather loud thunderclap had sent all of the students hurrying to the entrance hall, just barely escaping the pouring rain.<p>

"Do you fancy him?" Scarlett asked out of the blue as they made their way down to the common room.

Isadora stopped in the middle of the corridor, balking at the words that had just come out of her friend's mouth. "Fancy _Severus_? Are you out of your mind?" she hissed.

"Well, I don't know, Isadora!" Scarlett shrugged as they continued to the blank space of wall in the dungeon hall. "You two have been spending a lot of time together, and I don't really see you with any of the other guys in the house, so I thought it was the logical question to ask."

Isadora muttered the password, and the wall slid apart, allowing them access to the Slytherin dormitory. Dark leather armchairs were gathered around a large fire as several students tried to warm themselves up from the rain they had just been caught in. Dark mahogany tables were spread around the room with high-backed chairs circling them; classmates were hunched over their books as they took notes and tried to complete homework.

"Well?" Scarlett pushed as they made their way down a second flight of stairs to the sixth year dormitory.

"No, Scarlett," Isadora said quietly as she threw her bag onto her bed, rattling the dark green hangings as she went. "I have no interest in Severus as anything more than a friend." She could feel Scarlett's stare on her shoulders; she turned around. "What part of that sentence wasn't clear enough?" she growled.

Scarlett backed off. "I was just wondering, Isadora. Nobody spends much time with Severus, and before this year the only time you two were ever seen together was during that study group you were in. It just seemed a bit curious, is all," she said, defending herself. "What are you two doing every Friday night, anyway?"

Isadora rolled her eyes. "How many times do you and Callum have to ask, Scarlett?" she yelled. "We're studying Potions! My father doesn't want me failing my N.E.W.T's, he hired Severus to continue tutoring me through to graduation. _What about that is so difficult to understand?"_

At this point, Isadora was fuming. Scarlett had been asking her since early October what was going on between her and her Potions instructor; yet no matter how many times Isadora explained the situation, Scarlett always seemed to think there was something more. Maybe it was because she and Severus got along well enough that they weren't constantly snapping at each other – which was mostly on account of neither of them getting anywhere in the tutoring sessions while they were arguing and yelling. Severus never seemed to look at any of the girls in their house with anything beyond contempt and scorn, the same way he looked at all of the other boys in the house. The only reason he wasn't constantly berating Isadora was because of the unspoken threat of her father.

Scarlett hung her head and sighed. "I'm sorry I asked," she said as she stuffed her books back into her trunk.

Isadora rolled her eyes as she rifled around for her towel. "Just stop asking me about it, Scarlett. It's incredibly annoying," she whispered. "I'm going to take a shower, I'll see you later."

With that, she left the dormitory and walked silently back through the common room, out into the corridor. The girl's bathroom was down at the end of a particularly dreary dungeon hall; the floor always seemed wet, and the ceiling was always dripping condensation onto unlucky passers-by. Many students, by the time they made it to sixth year, had learned to quickly dart through to the door, which was a dank tapestry of a sinister looking merman. Only speaking the password would allow the students to lift the heavy corner of the tapestry to enter the bathroom.

The bare soles of Isadora's feet padded softly against the rough stone floor as she made her way over to one of the showers. An ancient-looking wrought iron showerhead jutted out from above her; she let the water flow for a few minutes. Being so far under the school, the water always took forever to warm up. A steady lukewarm stream hit her back as she stepped in, letting the water flow over her. She hadn't had time to shower before breakfast and Transfiguration. Her hair was soaked and heavy as she rinsed the soap from it. As she stood with her face under the showerhead, she felt some of the tension and irritation caused by Scarlett's unreasonable line of questioning wash down the drain with the rest of the water.

Half of the reason she made a point to be seen hanging around with Severus was to impress upon other potential followers of the Dark Lord the support that Zachary Starbuck (and by proxy Lucius Malfoy) was giving to Severus should he decide to take the Dark Mark after graduation. Neither her father nor her mother seemed to care if Isadora was at all interested in joining the ranks of the Death Eaters, but what did that matter, she was just their daughter. Isadora looked down at her left forearm and ran a finger gently over the skin. If she so desired, after graduation next year, she would have the symbol of the Dark Lord forever branded by magic into her flesh. Her family expected it of her, and she honestly didn't know what else she would do.

"Are you alright?" a voice called from the entryway.

Isadora sighed and leaned against the stone wall, shocked by how cold it was. "Scarlett, are you following me around?" she asked with a twinge of aggravation.

"You've been gone almost forty minutes, Isasdora. We've got Ancient Runes in fifteen," Scarlett answered, her voice coming closer. "I just wanted to make sure you hadn't fallen asleep in here is all."

A smirk ran across Isadora's face as she pushed strands of wet black hair out of her face. "I'll be back in a few minutes, don't worry," she said quietly as she stuck her head out from behind the shower curtain. Scarlett smiled briefly at her before turning around and leaving the bathroom.

Isadora shrugged and stood under the water for a few more seconds before deciding she really should get ready to go to class. With a jerk she shut the water off and stepped out into her towel. Hopefully Ancient Runes would be more interesting than Transfiguration had been.

* * *

><p>The rain from earlier refused to let up, and hammered at the windows of the library as Isadora sat alone, trying to concentrate on a particularly difficult runic translation. Professor Babbling had assigned two feet of translations to be due next class, and Isadora was already behind enough in this class. Scarlett, Callum and even Erik Strathborne had all tried to convince her to put off the homework for a few hours to join them in a game of Exploding Snap, but Isadora knew she wouldn't have time between now and Monday to complete the assignment the way she wanted to. Several books were stacked around her, making a sort of wall between her and the rest of the library, which was now humming with students reduced to doing homework for lack of anything else to do. A few of the books were helping her with her rune charts, and the rest were thick, musty tomes with maps drawn on the covers.<p>

When she was young, Isadora had stumbled upon a rather large atlas in her parents' library. It was no ordinary atlas, however, because her whole family was full of wizards; this atlas was enchanted. Depending on what page you turned to, this atlas could tell you the exact temperature of any location you happened to be looking at, the current population (which was constantly ticking upwards), the wizarding population of the country you were interested in, or any number of other statistical charts a witch or wizard could possibly need to know. She had been fascinated by one map, which changed with the seasons; she could watch as Russia slowly went from evergreen to white and snowcapped, while the monsoons made their yearly sweep across the Indian subcontinent. She spent hours of her childhood watching the maps, concerned with little else.

It was because of this fascination that her uncle, who owned a wizarding bookshop in Derbyshire, suggested that Isadora try to become a magical cartographer after she graduated. There was no direct way to do this at Hogwarts, though; Isadora had lengthy discussions with Professor Slughorn on the matter, trying to choose courses to take that would best increase her chances of learning the secrets of enchanted map-making. Astronomy helped a little; learning the position of stars was one of the first things she had to learn as a cartography student, so she made sure to pay extra attention when gazing up at the sky with the rest of her class. Her father had sent her away one summer to France, to work with a wizarding firm responsible for the atlas in the Starbuck library. Isadora returned with a better understanding of how to create the enchantment behind each of the maps, and was given an invitation to return after she graduated, as an apprentice.

Her interest in map-making had attracted the attention of the Dark Lord as well. Having a witch who could create a map showing all of the Muggle-born witches and wizards in England was something Lord Voldemort was very keen on. When Lucius Malfoy had visited the summer before sixth year had started, he had conveyed a message from the Dark Lord, requesting that when she graduate, Isadora consider joining his ranks; as she would be the only one with the skills to make his maps, she would be a special asset. The compliment made her rather proud; it made her father mad with honor.

Isadora shook her head, freeing herself from the memory of Lucius' visit. She told herself she wouldn't think about it until she returned home for the summer holidays.

"Ow!" a shout echoed from the table behind her. "Was that necessary?"

Someone else chuckled. Isadora turned around and peered through the bookshelf separating the two tables; she could just make out the face of James Potter, his glasses askew on his face, covered in scorch marks. The familiar voice of Sirius Black replied, "It was just a small one, no harm done!" He must have set off a firework.

"I'm trying to work, Sirius. I need to have tomorrow night free," Potter hissed, leaning further over his parchment.

"Why, you finally have another date with Evans?" Black asked; a chair scraped against the stone floor as he sat down. "Tomorrow's a Hogsmeade trip, isn't it?"

Isadora heard Potter sigh. "Yes, it is. I was thinking about taking her somewhere in the village for tea, but unless this massive pile of work gets done, that won't be happening," he said sternly.

She rolled her eyes, turning back to her own work. She had just begun scratching down the translation of a rather long runic sentence when Black said with a laugh, "I heard a rumor about her and Snivellus." Isadora froze; she knew that was the insipid nickname he and Potter had given Severus back in second year. She put her quill down and leaned as far back as she could without seeming suspicious, trying to better hear their conversation.

"Oh, did you now," James said offhandedly, his quill still scratching away.

"Come off it, James!" Sirius moaned. "I'd rather hear it from you than from some fourth year."

She heard a book close. Glancing back through the books, she saw Potter placing his quill on the table and staring up at Black, a concerned look on his face. He looked around, trying to make sure nobody was listening. He didn't see Isadora.

"Alright, you can't repeat this to anyone, d'you understand?" he said quietly. Sirius must have nodded. "Apparently, Lily and Snape grew up near each other. He's the first one that told her she was a witch, way back when odd things were happening she couldn't explain. Remember how she was always defending him, always hanging around him and nobody could figure out why? Turns out they were friends!"

Sirius stifled a laugh. "Lucky we saved her from _that_," he said, his tone laced with acid. "Wonder what happened?"

"You were there! That day last year, when he called her a…a _Mudblood_," James whispered so no one would hear, "because she tried to help him. That day when we flipped him over for a bit of fun."

"I'm surprised it took her that long to get rid of him. Snape calls all Muggle-borns that awful word."

"It gets better, though," Potter said, so quietly Isadora almost fell out of her chair as she strained to hear him. "Lily reckoned good old Snivellus had a thing for her. Always acted a little possessive, she said."

Sirius pounded on the table, muffling his laughter with the sleeve of his robes. "You have got to be kidding me, James! Severus had a crush on your girl!"

"James!" a high voice called from the end of the row. Isadora recognized Lily Evans' brilliant red hair as she made a beeline for Potter and smacked him across the face. "You swore you wouldn't say a word to _anyone_!"

"Lily!" James whispered. "I'm sorry, I –"

"I heard a rumor in the common room, Lil," Sirius said quietly, as always, coming to his friend's defense. "I didn't know if it was true or not, so I came to James…"

Isadora saw Lily's face turn as red as her hair. "Yes, Sirius, it's true. Severus and I were friends. We are no longer. End of story," she hissed.

"Did he really fancy you, though?" Black pressed.

"Yes," she sighed, staring at the floor. "And I forbid either of you to use this against him!" She glared at the two young men across from her.

"We promise, Lil," Sirius whispered reassuringly.

"C'mon, let's get out of here," Potter said, cramming his books and parchment into his bag.

Isadora quickly moved away from the bookshelf and back to her table, trying to make it look like she hadn't heard a word of the conversation. Out of the corner of her eye she watched the three Gryffindors walk past her, watching as Potter tried desperately to hold Lily's hand, though his efforts were for naught. An annoyed groan echoed from a few rows over, and Isadora smirked as Lily hissed, "Our date is off, James. Don't ask me again until you've grown up a bit."

As soon as they were gone, Isadora exhaled a breath she didn't realize she had been holding in. She stared blankly at the homework she was supposed to be working on, unsure of how she was going to continue, now that she had this information. Severus liked Lily Evans? It didn't seem possible. Severus threw around words like _Mudblood_ more often than half the purebloods in Slytherin, why would he be friends with one, let alone have feelings for her?

She looked over her runes homework again before deciding it was going to be impossible to keep working on it now. Tomorrow was a tutoring session; there was no way she'd be able to ask Severus about Evans then. With her luck, he'd end up using her as potions ingredients, he'd be so angry. It would have to wait until the weekend.

With her mind made up, Isadora replaced the stopper on her ink bottle and tossed it into her bag, along with her parchment and quill. Tomorrow night was going to be amazingly awkward.


	7. A Moment of Stillness

**7. A Moment of Stillness**

* * *

><p>As frequently happened on Saturdays, Severus once again found himself alone. Sitting by the lake, his potions book was lying open at his feet, parchment scattered around him, held down by rocks he had collected before sitting down on the dying grass. The sky was cloudy and grey, with the constant threat of snow in the air; his scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck as he shivered slightly in the wind.<p>

It was becoming increasingly difficult to find a quiet place to study inside the castle. There were dozens of students in the library, all being far too loud for his taste (or Madam Pince's, for that matter); the Slytherin common room was an absurd place to attempt getting any work done, what with students constantly trying to show off to each other. Severus was forced to leave the castle entirely and make his way down towards the lake. Normally he wouldn't mind studying outside, completely devoid of contact with any other Hogwarts student, but today the temperature was pushing on uncomfortable.

Ink dripped from his quill onto the grass next to him as he read over a particular potion from his textbook. He had already mixed the potion twice, once in class following the book's instructions, and once on his own, testing different methods of slicing and crushing different ingredients. After all of his adjustments had met with success, he realized he had only written down the alternative instructions on the pages of the textbook; now he was carefully transcribing them down for his own personal notes. Scribbled in the margins were different spells he was trying to create; a particularly nasty one, _sectumsempra_, was proving to work quite well on the various pillows he was testing it on. He scrawled "for enemies" next to the spell and smirked; what he would give to finally be able to use it on Potter…or Black.

He flipped the thick pages back to the front of the book, searching for any notes he might have missed. He paused on the page titled "Draught of Living Death" and scrawled a note to himself on a spare bit of parchment; he would need to go over this particular potion with Isadora next Friday. What she had managed to brew in class would have certainly killed whoever drank her potion.

Severus leaned back against the rough trunk of the tree and sighed, staring listlessly out across the lake. Tutoring last night had been rather odd in comparison to all of their previous sessions. Usually, Isadora couldn't keep her mouth shut for more than a few moments, constantly rattling on about the various girls in their house; he rarely listened, but he still noticed last night when she barely said a word. Lately she had even taken to bringing up Regulus now and again, even though she knew Severus couldn't be bothered to gossip about other boys. What had made him realize something was wrong was when he sharply criticized her for her poorly chopped ginger roots. Instead of her usual snarky remarks about his horrific teaching skills, she stared at him momentarily, and went back to chopping the remaining roots, going slower and making sure that each piece was identical to the next. It had taken all of his willpower not to shake her back to reality.

"Is that you, Severus?" her familiar voice called from up the hill.

Without looking back, he flailed his arm around in response. He looked up as she came around the tree.

"Hi," she said quietly, avoiding his glance.

Severus wedged his quill into his textbook and closed the cover; he had the distinct feeling he wasn't going to accomplish much more with her here. "Hello," he answered, staring up at her. He watched as she fidgeted with the sleeve of her robes, her fingers covered by black knit gloves. "Are you going to sit, or do you plan on standing there awkwardly all day?"

She sat down, closer to him than he would have liked, trying to avoid the ink that had dripped all over the grass around him. Their arms were pressed against one another; Severus couldn't complain about the warmth being close to her added. She stared out across the lake, determined to avoid his stare. He briefly noticed that her hair wasn't the disheveled mess it usually was on Saturday mornings, but tucked neatly into her usual bun at the back of her head.

He sighed as she sat there, not saying a word. "How are you?" he forced, crossing his arms.

"We're friends, right?" she asked suddenly, staring down at the tuft of grass in front of her.

"What?"

"We hang out, we seem to enjoy each other's company…we're friends?" she explained, nervously pushing an invisible strand of hair behind her ear.

Severus stared at her, slowly raising an eyebrow. He had never really thought about it before; he supposed he enjoyed her company more than most other Slytherin students, and he couldn't really think of any other girls that he spent more time with (recently, anyway). "When you put it that way, I guess, yes, we're friends," he answered, confused.

Isadora did something Severus had never seen her do before: she willingly pulled her hair out of its bun and let it fall gracefully over her shoulders, pin-straight and as black as her robes. She ran a pale hand through it once or twice before absentmindedly twisting one around her finger. "So," she paused, finally looking at him, "when I ask you this ridiculously personal question you aren't going to drown me in the lake?" Her cheeks were tinged pink.

He exhaled sharply; he was momentarily shocked by the phenomenon of her hair being allowed to roam free for once, but now he was just annoyed. "What do you want?" he hissed.

She couldn't seem to hold his gaze for more than a few moments before her eyes darted down to examine the cover of his potions book. Her finger was still tightly tangled in her hair.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Isadora, out with it already!" he shouted.

Her face flushed red as she asked, "Are you in love with Lily Evans?"

It was Severus' turn to be speechless. He stared at her, his onyx eyes boring into her violets, his brow furrowing with anger. The words hit him like a solid iron cauldron dropping on his mid-section, knocking the breath out of him. How could she possibly know? _"What?"_ he managed to ask through clenched teeth.

"I said –"

"I know what you said, Starbuck," he whispered lividly. "Where did you hear this rumor?"

She knew he was angry; her hands clasped each other tightly as she tried to keep his gaze. "I was in the library Thursday night, and I overheard Potter and Black talking…and Potter mentioned it. Apparently Lily told him in the strictest of confidence about your…affection for her. Someone in the Gryffindor common room had asked Black about it," she explained, her hands shaking, though from fear or the cold Severus couldn't tell. "He went to Potter about it and Potter told him. Then Lily showed up and confirmed it, but told them neither was allowed to ever speak about it. Or use it against you." She looked at him sympathetically, trying to smile, but fearful of his wrath.

Severus was clutching the hem of his robes, seething with anger. He had never expressly told Lily his true feelings for her, knowing she would only laugh at him and remind him (once again) that they were friends. He must have been too obvious with her; trying to keep her from Potter and the other Marauders must have tipped her off. Surely threatening to sleep outside the Gryffindor common room unless she came out to hear his apology didn't help, either. He buried his face in his ice-cold hands; a sound escaped his throat, something between a growl and a sob. How could she tell Potter, of all people! Lily knew better than anyone how much Severus loathed him; what could have possessed her to divulge that information to him?

He felt Isadora shift uncomfortably next to him, inching closer. "Look, I'm sure you're angry, since I can practically see it leaking from your ears," she said quietly, "but I came to you with this. Nobody else knows."

Surprised, Severus pulled his hands away from his face and stared at her. "You didn't go running to Holmes and Bradford, dying to tell them everything you had heard?"

Isadora cocked an eyebrow and rolled her eyes. "I'm not that big of a bitch, you know. It's not my secret to tell." Her voice was barely above a whisper, even though there wasn't another soul in sight.

"I…I really appreciate that," he said in a hushed voice. Nobody needed to hear him be sentimental.

She shrugged and placed a hand on his arm as she said, "You didn't tell other people about my family's twisted obsession to marry me off to Regulus by Christmas."

"That's true," he said with a smirk.

He watched Isadora as she continued to fidget, clearly still slightly uncomfortable with the situation. A breeze had kicked up, causing her hair to dance wildly around her face. He silently laughed as she tried to contain it with a wave of her hand.

"For what it's worth," she said quietly as the wind died down, "I'm sorry for what she did to you."

The smile melted off Severus' face; the dragon roared in his chest again. "I'm not going to talk about it, Isadora," he warned, his hands balled into fists once more.

He felt her hand back on his, her skin slightly warmer than his, and he relaxed his fists slightly. "I'm not asking you to," she said quietly.

He looked at Isadora again; there was a hint of a smile crossing her lips, silently telling him she understood. Neither of them spoke, unsure of where the conversation could possibly go from there. Her hand was still resting gently on his; her fingers had slipped through the gap between his thumb and forefinger. It was an odd feeling for Severus: he had never really held a girl's hand before. His gaze returned to her eyes, still watching him sympathetically. Before he realized what he was doing, Severus pushed some of her hair out of her face, his hand resting gently on the soft skin of her cheek. He noticed they were sitting closer than he and Lily had ever been. He seemed incapable of taking his eyes off of her.

Without thinking, he brought his lips to hers; the touch spread warmth from his face, down through to his core as he felt her respond and kiss back. He inhaled sharply and moved closer to her, clutching her free hand in his. A strange sensation started to take him over as he realized he wanted to be closer still.

It was over as quickly as it had begun, and Severus could feel every ounce of blood in his body rush to his face as he fixed his gaze on a particularly interesting pine tree across the lake. Isadora gently slipped her hand from his grasp, bringing her knees up against her chest and wrapping her arms tightly around them. He kept glancing at her, hoping she might say something to break the unbearably awkward silence.

Finally, she spoke: "Um…I…" Not very encouraging words, but it was a start.

"I'm sorry," Severus croaked, trying to find his voice, which had decided to hide somewhere deep in his chest. "That was –"

"Unexpected," she finished.

"Yeah."

Isadora's face was as red as his; it seemed like she couldn't help but smile as she whispered, "No worries."

Severus looked at her, willing his voice to return to that of his sixteen year old self and not the voice of a seven year old. "So…we're friends, right?" he asked in a mocking tone.

"Well, no offense, Sev, but I don't think you'd take a curse for me," she replied, her grin widening.

"No, that's true," he said with a shrug, "but I'd push you out of the way." He smirked at her.

Isadora laughed, finally breaking through the tension hanging in the air. The wind was blowing too hard at this point for Severus to consider staying outside, and he started gathering his parchment and stuffing it into his bag. Isadora handed him his textbook as they began the long walk back up to the castle; he noticed she was keeping a good six inches between the two of them, although their hands kept brushing against one another.


	8. Remaining Light

**8. Remaining Light**

* * *

><p>November seemed to rush by in a flurry of essays and complicated spellwork. Apparition lessons had begun at the end of the month, twice a week, limiting Isadora's time to herself to four nights a week – unless Scarlett and Callum decided to follow her to the library, which was happening more often now that mid-year exams were upon them. At first she didn't mind the company; being able to relax a little while still working on her homework was a welcome relief. As dank November faded into wintry December, though, their constant presence beside her was becoming more and more of a tiresome annoyance. It was virtually impossible for her to find any time to study her maps, let alone have a moment's peace to concentrate on her homework.<p>

Friday nights had become a reprieve from the chaos of school; Isadora never imagined she would actually look forward to one of Severus' tutoring sessions. She found herself practically running to the Potions classroom on more than one occasion, desperate to escape the leeches her friends had become. At least Severus could go for prolonged periods of time without speaking to her.

Neither of them had said a word about their unexpected kiss by the lake the previous month. It seemed like nothing really needed to be said; it happened, it was over, and both had moved on. Isadora hated to admit it, but despite his appearance and demeanor, Severus was a decent kisser.

The first Friday after the kiss, Isadora went to her tutoring session expecting the tension in the dungeon to be tougher than dragon's hide. When she walked in, Severus was in his usual spot, scribbling down notes from his textbook, his long nose inches above the parchment. He had pointed casually to the board, where he had written out instructions for concocting a potion she should have been able to make in her second year. Once he had brutally criticized her twice for minor errors in her prep work, Isadora relaxed; clearly things had not changed between them.

When they were outside of the tutoring sessions, however, Isadora noticed a change in Severus' attitude towards her. It wasn't significant, but he seemed to judge her less; he wasn't constantly sneering at every idle remark she made. She assumed this was his way of showing his respect for her; after all, she hadn't told anyone about their encounter, nor about his feelings for Lily.

A week before the Christmas holidays began, Isadora was lounging at the far end of the Slytherin table, taking her time to enjoy her morning tea and toast; it was a rare Saturday morning that she was able to wake up in time for breakfast. Scarlett and Callum had finally noticed her permanent look of annoyance whenever the two of them came near her, and had started sitting considerably further away from her. She was fine with this; the more quiet time she had, the better. Spending a month at home with her parents was not likely to be any fun at all.

The sound of wings echoed softly from the high ceiling of the Great Hall as the owls made their way to their owners. Mab landed softly next to Isadora's hand, hooting softly as she nibbled on the crust of a piece of toast; a letter was tied to her leg.

_Oh, joy, another letter from mother. _Isadora sighed, gently removing the letter from her owl before she took flight to find a perch in the Owlery.

Tucked neatly inside the envelope were two letters, one from each of her parents. She read her father's first, which explained that he had secured her another summer's work at the cartographic firm in Paris (which made her incredibly happy). Her mother's letter was much shorter.

_Darling_,  
><em>I hope you are enjoying yourself at school. We are very much looking forward to your visit for the Christmas holidays.<br>__Yesterday I learned some of the most spectacular news: Regulus is single again! I believe his mother demanded that he end the infatuation after she discovered the girl he was with was a Ravenclaw. What luck for you! I have already arranged for the Blacks to come for dinner over the break, but I am hoping that you will do your best to secure Regulus' affections before then.  
><em>_All my love,  
><em>_Mother_

Isadora would have been happier with a Howler. She re-read the letter, utterly shocked at her mother's complete lack of restraint. How did she know about Regulus' relationship ending before Isadora had found out? Had she magically wire-tapped the Black residence, keen on keeping up with their every move?

Taking notice of the looks Scarlett and Callum were giving her, Isadora gathered her things and made her way back to the common room. She slouched low in one of the chairs nearest the fire, pulling her feet up so as to hide herself as well as possible from any further interruptions. What did her mother expect her to do, pounce on Regulus the first chance she saw him? She could only imagine how embarrassing that would be, mentioning his break-up before he did. Surely he would think she was stalking him.

She heard footsteps from behind her; as she peeked out from the armchair, she noticed a shadow coming up from the boys' dormitory. It certainly wasn't Severus; he'd be in the Potions classroom with Professor Slughorn by now.

"Morning, Isadora," Regulus Black yawned as he reached the common room, bleary-eyed from sleep.

Isadora shrank in her chair, her face growing warmer by the minute. "Oh, hello, Regulus," she said, trying to sound as casual as possible. She watched, wide-eyed, as he wandered over to the opposite chair and dropped into it, rubbing his eyes. "Have a good night?" she asked.

Regulus nodded through another yawn and pulled his robes tightly around him. "I suppose you could say that. Arguing constantly with my brother is starting to become rather tiresome," he explained. His eyes were narrow slits as he adjusted to being awake. "Perpetual sibling rivalry, I guess. It doesn't help that we were placed in rival houses."

"I can imagine that makes family dinners rather awkward," Isadora muttered with a smirk.

"You would think so, but Sirius has started spending most of his holidays at the Potter's house," Regulus said quietly. "What's that?" He pointed to her hand.

Isadora looked down and her eyes widened; she was still clutching the incriminating letter from her mother, the parchment now a wrinkled mess. Her face couldn't have been any redder. "Oh, it's nothing," she choked and threw the letter into the fire.

Regulus laughed as he watched the parchment quickly burn away to ash. "So what are your plans for Christmas? Going anywhere special?" he asked, still clutching his robes around his body, as if he were cold.

_Does he know about dinner already?_ she thought, toying with the fraying edge of the black jumper she was wearing. _Does he know that I know about dinner already?_ How was she supposed to answer this bloody question? "Not…not that I'm aware of," she managed to squeak out. She was becoming very interested in the sleeve of her sweater.

"My mother said something about visiting your family over the break," she heard him say offhandedly. "Have you heard anything about that?"

Isadora felt little relief that he knew about dinner. "My parents mentioned it in their last letter," she answered, stealing a glance at him. Regulus was looking at her most intently, his pale grey eyes wide. The look startled her; she couldn't tell if he was angry or suddenly alert.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted by someone sweeping into the common room, dragging something very loud and metal on the ground. Isadora peeked over the top of the leather chair she was hiding in and saw a very distraught-looking Severus marching through the entryway, his eyes narrowed and determined. He nodded when he noticed her watching him, but didn't say a word as he glided down the stairs to the sixth year dormitory, his cauldron clanging loudly behind him.

"Wonder what's up with him," Regulus muttered, clearly annoyed by the sudden intrusion and the racket Severus was making with his cauldron. "Aren't you two friends?"

"I guess –" She stopped herself; she _was_ friends with Severus, why would Regulus judge her for that? She was older than him, for Merlin's sake! He should have been the one trying to impress her, not the other way around! "Yes, yes I am, very much so," she said proudly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Sort of an odd one, isn't he," Regulus stated matter-of-factly, staring blankly into the fire.

Isadora's eyes narrowed at the comment. "He has his quirks, yes," she said defensively, "but so don't we all."

A smirk crossed the boy's face as he looked at her. "Very keen on defending him, are we?" he asked sarcastically.

"Honestly I'm not going to defend who I choose to be seen with, Regulus," Isadora snapped, her tone much more forceful than she had intended.

He raised an eyebrow curiously. "I wasn't asking you to, Isadora," he said calmly as footsteps echoed once again from the dormitory stairwell.

"Hello, Severus," Isadora called as he emerged from the stairs.

"Isadora," he said curtly. He noticed another pair of eyes watching him and added, "Regulus," before smirking knowingly at Isadora.

She glared at him, noticing that he was dressed for the outdoors; his worn scarf was thrown loosely around his neck and he was hastily buttoning his cloak. "Where are you off to?" she asked, standing and brushing herself off.

She heard him sigh as he paused and turned to face her. "Following a hunch," he said quietly, glancing at Regulus, who was not paying any attention. "See you later." He turned back towards the exit, his cloak fanning out behind him.

Isadora groaned. She knew exactly what hunch Severus was about to go follow, and she knew it was dangerous and stupid. She looked at Regulus and whispered, "I'll be right back," before rushing across the length of the common room. She had to dart out into the frigid corridor to catch Snape, grabbing on to the edge of his cloak. "Sev!"

He yanked the black fabric out of her hand as he turned. "Yes?"

"Please tell me this isn't your ridiculous theory about Lupin _again_," she moaned, her arms crossed once more.

Severus stared back at her, silent. Isadora rolled her eyes and sighed, exasperated. For weeks now, he had been going on about how strange Remus Lupin, a Gryffindor sixth year, had been acting. He couldn't stop talking about how Lupin was always disappearing, always absent from class around the same time every month, and how his friends, Potter and Black, were usually gone at the same time. Isadora put up with his ramblings because Snape put up with hers, but this hunch of his was getting absolutely ridiculous.

"Seriously?" she mocked, rolling her eyes. "You're just doing this to get them expelled!"

"They should be expelled, for all the bullshit they pull when Dumbledore isn't watching," Severus hissed, leering at her as he finished buttoning his cloak.

"You're obsessed, Sev," Isadora said quietly. "It's ridiculous!"

He raised a dark eyebrow and sneered at her. "I think you have more important things to worry about at the moment," he murmured, eyeing the portal back to the common room.

She sighed, glancing over her shoulder at the blank wall where the entrance to the common room was. "Just don't do anything stupid, ok?"she asked.

Severus turned his back and continued walking down the corridor; Isadora watched him until the tail of his cloak disappeared around the corner and up the stairs to the entrance hall, before muttering the password and re-entering the common room. Her heart leapt when she saw that Regulus had remained in his chair, now prodding the fire with a poker.

"Everything alright?" he asked as she sat back down across from him.

"Oh, yeah," she answered. She did not want to keep talking about Severus. "How are you? I feel like we've barely seen each other this term."

He shrugged, his dark hair still messy from waking up. "Alright, I suppose. Had to break it off with that Ravenclaw girl a few days ago."

Isadora tried not to show her excitement as her eyes darted from the rug up to Regulus. "Why is that?" she asked, feinting surprise.

"Oh, the usual, my mother wasn't pleased to hear that she wasn't in Slytherin," he answered as he continued to shove the poker deeper into the flames. "A bit stupid, if you ask me, but I'm over it."

Isadora could tell he was lying, but was in too good a mood to mention it. "Well, that's too bad," she said sympathetically.

"So I was thinking," he continued as if she hadn't said a word, "maybe, if you wanted to, we could go out over break."

She felt her jaw drop and her face flush red again. Had he just asked her out? Was he actually interested in her?

"Only if you want to, y'know," he reiterated.

She studied him for a moment. His voice seemed to waver when he had spoken those last words, as if he wasn't as confident as everyone made him out to be; as if he actually was just a fifteen year old boy who didn't really know what he was doing.

"Yeah, that would be fun," she answered with a smile.


	9. A Deafening Distance

**9. A Deafening Distance**

* * *

><p>Severus was thankful that the Christmas holidays began in just a few hours. He had no intention of returning to Spinner's End for the break; he had remained at Hogwarts for all holiday sessions since his first year, refusing to spend any more time than necessary with his abusive father and inept mother. He would much rather stay at the school, where he had constant access to Professor Slughorn's private storeroom, as well as the Potions classroom, where he could continue to experiment on perfecting his brewing skills, uninterrupted by other, inept students.<p>

He had been particularly venomous to anyone who crossed his path since that morning when he left Isadora in the common room. He was following a hunch he had been slowly developing since third year. Remus Lupin, a shabby, sandy-haired Gryffindor who spent most of his time hanging around with James Potter and Sirius Black, disappeared from school once a month, returning a few days later looking even shabbier than usual, and more often than not with a few cuts and bruises. Severus heard rumors that Lupin's mother was particularly ill, and he went home once a month to visit her, but this did not account for the swollen eyes and slash marks that so often peppered the boy's face when he returned to Hogwarts. Ever since last year, Severus had noticed that Potter and Black (as well as that rat-faced, pitiful excuse for a Gryffindor, Peter Pettigrew) had been disappearing around the same time as Lupin; Severus _knew_ they were up to something.

Something that could get them expelled.

When he had left the castle earlier that week, he made sure to bring schoolbooks, to make it seem like he was simply out doing homework on the lawn (even though the weather had been particularly miserable that Sunday). He sat by his usual tree for hours, constantly checking the doors to the castle, watching for anyone coming outside.

He had been ambushed by Sirius Black, who had somehow managed to avoid Severus' eye. Both pointed their wands at one another, mutual hatred filling the space between. It had been Sirius who lowered his wand first, who said he knew what Severus was up to, and that if he was really that curious, all he had to do was follow Madam Pomfrey and Remus when they emerged from the castle.

"See that tree over there, the Whomping Willow?" Sirius had said, pointing to a particularly nasty looking tree up on the hill. "There's a small knot, just press it with a long stick, and you're in."

"You're lying," Severus sneered in return, his wand level with Black's throat.

"Am I?" The tone of his voice was laced with malice as Sirius turned his back to Snape and walked away, hands in his pockets, feeling particularly smug. Severus hadn't lowered his wand until his enemy was back at the entrance to the castle.

He had spent the next two hours seriously considering whether or not to take Black's advice, when he saw two figures emerge from the castle. He crept forward and immediately recognized the secondhand robes belonging to Remus Lupin; the older woman next to him must have been the resident nurse. Any thought of considering why Black had given him this information immediately escaped Severus as he had quietly made his way across the lawn, watching Madam Pomfrey freeze the swinging branches of the willow by pressing the knot with a long stick. She and Lupin disappeared into the trunk of the tree, which started swinging again as soon as the knot was released.

Severus looked around, making sure he wasn't being followed; a break in the clouds allowed for a glimpse at the full moon. Suddenly everything seemed to click.

"Well, well, Lupin," he whispered to himself as he waited for the nurse to reemerge from the tree, "what secrets have you been hiding?"

Madam Pomfrey returned from the tree trunk and made her way back to the castle; when she was out of earshot, Severus darted across the lawn and snatched up the same branch the nurse had tossed aside. Prodding the knot, the tree froze and, after a moment of trepidation, he ran to the base of the tree, which cleverly hid the entrance to an earthen tunnel. After dusting his robes, Severus whispered, "_Lumos,_" and by the light of his wand, made his way silently up the tunnel.

He seemed to have walked forever, and realized he must be making his way closer to Hogsmeade. He paused briefly, listening for what he thought were footsteps behind him, and took off at a run; whoever was following him was not going to stop him from discovering the secret to getting the Marauders expelled.

What happened next Severus only remembered in a blur.

"Snape!" Someone was calling his name from behind him; he turned and pointed his wand down the tunnel. Rage seared through him when the face of his follower emerged in the wand light: James Potter had come down after him, wand at the ready. "You can't go in there, Snape!"

Before he had a chance to reply, a terrible sound echoed from the end of the tunnel, which was just visible to Severus from where he was standing. It sounded like bones breaking, and a man crying out in pain…but not a man. The cries slowly became howls. Severus took another step towards the sounds and saw all he needed to see.

Potter had grabbed Severus from behind, dragging him back down the tunnel towards the Willow. When they emerged and were a safe distance from the tree, Severus wrenched his arm from Potter's grasp and leveled his wand at him once again.

"How very interesting, Potter," he had hissed. "Wait until Dumbledore finds out."

But Dumbledore already knew, much to Severus' chagrin, and the headmaster swore the young man to secrecy. "If you tell a soul, Severus," he had said in a grave tone, "I can only imagine the fallout, for both you and Mr. Lupin."

It had been a week since his talk with Dumbledore, and ever since then, whenever the two had met in the halls, the old man gave Severus a look of extreme caution. The young man knew better than to cross the headmaster, but that didn't change the fact that Remus Lupin was a _werewolf_.

* * *

><p>Severus was in the Potions classroom, waiting impatiently for Isadora to arrive for the final tutoring session of the term. He had originally planned on giving her a particularly nasty potion to work on, which would have kept her up rather late into the evening and thus eliminated any chance of her being able to join the party in the common room before everyone went home for the weekend. But after the events of last week, he had stopped caring about torturing her. He had already shattered two phials in his rage; it would have been a disaster to try and teach her anything tonight. So instead he had nicked a few sweets and a flask of pumpkin juice from the kitchens and set it out for them to enjoy.<p>

He heard footsteps echoing from the hallway outside the classroom and looked up to see Isadora entering, her cauldron swinging carelessly beside her. Her face was very pink, and slowly being taken over by a very large grin.

"Evening, Severus!" she said with such joy it completely threw him off.

"Er…what is going on," he demanded, staring at her suspiciously.

She gave him a confused look as she placed her cauldron on one of the work stations. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"You are never this excited for a tutoring session," he said flatly. "In fact, I believe I've had to drag you in here quite a few times."

Her face became a deep red and she suddenly became very interested in her shoes. "Oh, well…it's nothing, really," she whispered.

He continued to stare at her as he made his way around to where he had stored the food for the evening. Isadora looked up as he placed the cakes on one of the clean tables and raised an eyebrow.

"Are we not tutoring tonight?" she asked.

"I'm not in the mood," Severus answered, handing her a silk napkin. "Plus, it's Christmas. How horrible a friend would I be if I made you concoct some incredibly difficult potion just hours before you were scheduled to go home?" He said all of this like he actually cared; in reality he was too angry to give a damn.

"You could have told me sooner!" she said, pointing at the heavy pewter cauldron she had carried in.

He smirked and shrugged as he offered her a piece of cake.

Isadora munched on the sweet, and they sat in silence; Severus was barely eating anything.

"What's wrong?" she asked through a mouthful of food.

He crossed his arms. "I have no idea what you're –"

"Oh, please, Sev, I'm not bloody stupid," she sighed, crossing the room to stand in front of him. "You've been in a particularly sour mood since the weekend, you've barely answered any questions in class, and you've barely spoken more than a few words to me all week. Something's up."

He sighed. Dumbledore had made him swear. But if he only told Isadora, and swore her to the same secrecy the headmaster had sworn him to, maybe it would be ok. At least then he would have someone to talk to about it. It seemed like that was increasingly becoming Isadora's job in his life; to be the person he could talk to about things.

"Sev," she pushed, her foot tapping impatiently.

"Remember that hunch I had?" he said quietly, walking to the far corner of the classroom and beckoning her to follow.

Her shoes echoed softly on the stone floor as she walked behind him. "Unfortunately!" she answered. "Why are we in the corner?"

Severus scanned the classroom, making absolutely sure nobody else was in the room with them. He put a hand on Isadora's shoulder and whispered, "Lupin is a werewolf."

She stared at him mockingly. "Come off it, Sev," she said, annoyed.

"I'm not kidding! I followed Black Sunday night and saw Lupin with my own eyes!" Severus hissed, now gripping Isadora's shoulders with both hands. "Potter and Black know, they've been helping him. And Dumbledore, he knows. He's known since Remus came to the school!"

She continued to stare blankly at him, a look somewhere between utter disbelief and fear flickering across her face. "You're serious?" she asked quietly.

"_Yes_," he said with force. "Dumbledore swore me to secrecy –"

"Then why the hell are you telling me?" Isadora barked, stepping away from him.

"Because we're friends!" Severus shouted, pounding a fist against the wall beside him. "We're friends and I trust you and I know you won't go running your mouth to everyone." He was breathing heavily, angrily.

Isadora blinked and took a step forward. "How long have you known?" she whispered.

"A few months now. He disappears at the full moon and comes back a haggard mess. What else could possibly be happening to him?" Severus answered in a low voice, massaging the bridge of his nose as if he had a migraine. He felt her hand rest gently on his arm. "How'd it go with Black the other day?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Regulus?" she said, laughing. "Oh, you know…he asked me out." Her voice raised an octave as she said this.

Severus looked up, his eyebrows raised. "Did he now?" He could tell how excited she was. "That's…nice." He wasn't quite sure how to congratulate her.

She nodded, her cheeks the same shade of pink they were when she first entered the classroom. "It's kind of freezing in here, Sev," she said, looking around. "How about we head back to the common room? I have to pack soon anyway."

He had almost forgotten that she was leaving for the holidays. "Before I forget," he said, crossing the room and rummaging through his bag. He pulled out a wrinkled sheet of parchment and handed it to her, "you'll need to pick up these supplies for when we come back. I'm trying to get as many N.E.W.T level potions in next term as possible, since I won't be able to keep doing this come seventh year."

He smirked as she gawked at the list of ingredients in front of her. "You can't just get these out of the store room?" she asked as she picked up her cauldron and followed him out into the corridor.

"It's not my store room," he answered, walking beside her.

She sighed and jammed the parchment into the pocket of her robes. They continued on to the common room in silence, both heading for the dormitory staircases. Students were milling about, rucksacks packed and ready to bring home for the break.

"Have a happy Christmas, Severus," Isadora said when they had reached the stairwells. Unexpectedly, she wrapped an arm around his neck and hugged him.

"Er…you as well," he replied, slightly shocked by the contact. The last he saw of her was her smirking as she ran upstairs. He sighed and watched a few students exit the common room, disappearing for the holidays. With a final glance at the roaring fire, he made his way down to the empty sixth year dormitory, changed into his pajamas, and crawled into bed.


	10. New Year's End

**10. New Year's End**

* * *

><p>"Isadora!"<p>

A long lump, somewhat resembling a body, moved slightly and groaned from under layers of dark fabric. Strands of black hair were snaking out from under the blankets, but Isadora refused to open her eyes or budge from the warm, comfortable spot she had made for herself.

"_Isadora!"_

She peeked out from beneath the covers and squinted at the clock: 8:45am. What on earth could her mother possibly want from her at such an early hour?

The blankets were abruptly wrenched down from her head, and Isadora had to bury her face in the pillows to avoid the blinding daylight. As her eyes adjusted, she made out the shape of her mother, fully dressed, staring impatiently down at her daughter. "How many times do I have to shout before you answer?" Adelaide Starbuck demanded, throwing the blankets on the floor at her feet.

Isadora opened her mouth, trying to think of a witty retort, but failed miserably; it was far too early. "Sorry," she sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Do you realize what day it is?" Adelaide whispered as she hastily gathered her daughter's covers and placed them back on the bed.

"Well, I know I got presents a few days ago, so it can't be Christmas," Isadora answered, still lying flat on the bed.

She felt a sharp pain in her leg as her mother began throwing an assortment of dress robes (and the hangers they were on) at her from the closet. "The Blacks are coming for dinner tonight!" Adelaide hissed. "How could you possibly forget about this?"

Isadora wanted to tell her mother that she forgot about the Blacks coming for dinner because she was not nearly as interested in trying to arrange a marriage between her and Regulus as the rest of the Starbuck family seemed to be. She also wanted to remind her mother that it was the holidays, and she wasn't necessarily focused on anything in particular at the moment other than enjoying her time off from school. Instead, she merely shrugged and crawled out of bed, making for the door.

"You're to go straight to the shower," Adelaide said angrily, sweeping in front of Isadora. "You can eat breakfast after you're presentable."

The sixteen year old made a sharp turn and headed for the bathroom, her fists balled as she slammed the door behind her. Steam began to fill the crisp white tile bathroom, and after a few minutes of standing under the hot jet of water emitting from the wall, Isadora was finding it particularly difficult to extricate from the shower. Staying under the water meant she could relax and think about what she could do with the last two weeks of holiday; getting out and dressed meant going downstairs, which inevitably meant dealing with her parents.

"Do you plan on drowning yourself before lunch, dear?" her father's pleasant voice asked from outside the door.

"I was unaware that was an option!" she answered, turning the water off and quickly drying her hair with a wave of her wand. Dressed in a soft black bathrobe, she opened the door to her father leaning against the railing, smiling gently at her.

"Please try and forgive your mother's behavior today," he said as he walked with her back to her bedroom. "You're her only daughter."

"Do I have a brother hiding somewhere?" Isadora asked offhandedly as she stared, repulsed, at the various dress robes her mother had chosen for her to wear. "Really, dad, does she expect me to wear something like this," she held up a deep purple robe which was completely bedecked with silver rhinestones, "to dinner? Or in general?"

Zachary smirked and suppressed a laugh. "Just put on your usual clothes for now," he whispered as Adelaide's heels clicked noisily in the hall below. "I wouldn't worry about the dress robes until tonight." He closed the door; Isadora could hear him walking back downstairs.

A soft hooting came from the open window as Mab soared through, landing on the wooden frame of Isadora's bed. Grasped in her beak was a letter; the owl dropped it onto the bedspread and took off again, back into the chilly December air.

_Finally_, Isadora thought, glancing at the letter as she pulled a jumper over her head. She recognized the handwriting immediately as Severus'.

"Are you planning on eating today?" her mother's voice echoed from the hall.

Isadora rolled her eyes and snatched the letter up from her bed before leaving her bedroom. She gave the window a look of longing, wishing she could fly away like Mab had. It would certainly make life easier.

"Who is that from?" Adelaide asked as Isadora sat down and ripped open the letter, a piece of toast held between her teeth. The tone of her mother's voice suggested she was hoping it might be a love letter from Regulus.

"Severus," Isadora answered dully, pouring herself some tea and secretly relishing in the disheartened look that swept across her mother's face.

Zachary sat down across from his wife and asked, "How is that dear boy, anyway?"

Isadora raised an eyebrow and put the letter down, making sure it was out of the reach of her mother. "He's fine," she answered, confused. "Since when is he a 'dear boy' to you?"

Her father's smile twitched briefly. "It's just very respectable of him to continue these lessons with you, is all," he said rather fast, obviously covering his tracks. He looked down at his plate, suddenly finding a keen interest in buttering his toast.

"Right," Isadora whispered, and picked the letter back up. She had been waiting for over a week now for Severus' answer to her letter. Scarlett and Callum had both gone away with their families for Christmas and were practically unreachable; even Erik Strathborne was proving difficult to contact. But Isadora had found that she didn't really want to hear from any of them – ever since the kissing incident at the lake, she and Severus had seemed to have a deeper friendship. It seemed more worthwhile than the rest.

A single chocolate frog slipped out of the envelope, struggling against the packaging. Isadora smiled and unfolded the parchment.

_Isadora,_

_Holidays at Hogwarts are fine, as usual. Professor Dumbledore gave us all crackers on Christmas Day – they were filled with particularly garish hats, which he then made us wear for the duration of dinner. It was unbearable._

_I'm not supposed to say anything to you, but your father wrote after you left. I can't go into the details in this letter, though, in case someone else reads it, but…well, we'll talk when you get back. I dare say you'll have a better idea of what I'm talking about by then._

_Anyway, enjoy the rest of the holiday. Happy Christmas, hope you enjoy the frog._

_Severus_

_PS: Good luck with dinner. Don't think I feel any sympathy for you, though.  
><em>_PPS: Don't forget to buy those ingredients before you return. Breaking in to Slughorn's personal storeroom is not something I really feel like doing this term._

She flipped the parchment over, half hoping to find that part of the letter mysteriously found its way onto the other side. It was typical, of course, for a letter from Severus to be so short; he wasn't interested in holidays, or explaining in detail what the castle looked like on Christmas Day. Isadora was sure he was far too busy cooping himself up in the empty Potions classroom, experimenting. Why had her father written to him, though? She cast a curious glance at Zachary, whose face was half hidden behind the _Daily Prophet_. What was going on, and why did Severus seem to think she would have a better idea once she returned to school?

* * *

><p>The rest of the day seemed to fly by, although how it did, Isadora was unsure. At one point she had to leave the house and walk the grounds of the Starbuck estate just to resist the temptation of setting her mother's hair on fire. As the day progressed Adelaide became progressively more controlling, demanding at one point to see Isadora in various dress robes to determine which would suit her best for dinner. A casual remark about her hair had sent Isadora reeling into the garden, clutching her wand, stupefying hedges as she went.<p>

The Starbucks lived to the north of England, in a sleepy town in Derbyshire. Isadora frequently commented that it was lucky the family was a wizarding one; without the Floo network and brooms, getting to London on such a frequent basis to visit Diagon Alley or catch the train to Hogwarts would be exceedingly difficult. The grounds were not gated in, and eventually Isadora found herself staring out along the vast expanse of rolling moors, now covered in a thin, crystalline layer of frost. It was absurd for her to have come out this far without a cloak, but one glance back down the hill to the house made her stomach turn. She didn't care that the Blacks would be arriving within the hour, nor that the sun was quickly disappearing beyond the horizon, taking with it all warmth its feeble rays could give.

"Aren't you cold?" a familiar voice asked from behind her.

Isadora turned once again to face the house, but was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of Regulus, wrapped tightly in a thick black cloak. "I suppose a bit, yes," she answered. Her fingers were going numb.

"I can only imagine what sent you out here," he whispered with a smirk, removing the cloak and draping it around Isadora's shoulders.

She gave a feeble laugh as his hands cupped her face and kissed her lightly. "I suppose your whole family is here?" she asked, although she would have been perfectly happy to stay out on the moor and freeze with him, alone.

Regulus nodded. His hair hadn't been cut since she last saw him, and was beginning to take on a rather shaggy look. "Everyone except Sirius, of course," he answered. "Your mum was acting rather strange; she's probably worried where you've run off to." He gestured back to the house, his arm around Isadora. "Dinner's ready anyway."

"Well, shall we go suffer through it, then?" she said with a sigh.

"Yes," he said quietly. "But I thought afterwards we could slip in to town and I could buy you that coffee I promised?" A smile appeared on his pale face.

Isadora almost slipped on a patch of ice as he said this; she had nearly forgotten about their date. "That'd be great!" she said, almost with too much enthusiasm. "As long as I survive this dinner, that is." Regulus laughed as they continued down to the house, where they were greeted with a mix of worried confusion and excitement.

* * *

><p>"That was <em>dreadful<em>," Regulus moaned as he walked hand in hand with Isadora up the High Street of town, searching for a pub that was still open. "I thought my mother was bad, but…no offense."

Isadora shook her head as they entered a room lit with too few candles; a barmaid suggested with a wave of her hand that they sit anywhere they like. "None taken, believe me," she whispered, leading the way to a table at the back. "I'm just sorry you had to sit through that."

Regulus smirked as they ordered their coffees. "Does your mother expect us to get married or something? I'm not even sixteen yet!"

Isadora paled at his comment, and she hissed, "What kind of rubbish idea is that?"

The boy across the table raised his eyebrow at her inquisitively. "She clearly wants us to be together," he said. "It was pretty obvious. I can only imagine she's expecting you to marry into a pure-blood family, and considering the fact you only have a year left of school, it's no surprise she's trying to marry you off sooner rather than later." There was a slight hint of disdain in his voice as he said this.

She felt compelled to bandage the situation. "I'm her only child, Regulus," she started, stirring her coffee absentmindedly. "I don't agree with it at all. I like you, a lot, but I have no interest in marrying anyone at the moment. Not to mention you and I have only been seeing each other for two weeks!"

Regulus' face darkened as he hunched over his steaming mug. "I don't plan on sticking around after I graduate, anyway," he said quietly. "I already know where my allegiance lies."

"You're…you're joining?" Isadora asked. Her drink remained untouched.

He nodded, taking a sip of his coffee and wincing at the heat. "Of course I am," he answered. "A whole load of fifth years are already talking about it. I thought for sure that you'd be interested."

Isadora stared down at the table. Her father had mentioned before she and Regulus had left that a discussion needed to occur between father and daughter when she got back home. She had suspected what the conversation was going to be about, but now she was positive. "I am, I suppose," she said in a hushed tone.

Regulus took her hand in his and stroked her palm with his thumb. Neither of them spoke another word on the subject, or at all, until their beverages had been finished and they decided Isadora needed to return home for the night.

"I know you're father's going to talk to you tonight," he said at the door. "Don't be frightened. It's an honor to be asked to join the Death Eaters, and with Zachary already such a prominent member, you'll be accepted instantly."

She smiled fondly at him as they walked through the door; he would need to use the Floo network to get back to his mother's house. Standing at the fireplace, the two of them kissed, and with a _whoosh_ and a flash of green light, he was gone.


	11. Remembrance Day

**11. Remembrance Day**

* * *

><p>Severus was violently woken by the slamming of trunk lids against wooden bed frames and the clamor of four male voices echoing disdain for the appalling shortness of the Christmas holidays. Artificial sunlight poured across his bed as someone yanked open the curtains, and he silently cursed whoever decided Slytherin students needed to see the sun other than when they were out on the grounds. He heard Avery and Mulciber whispering nearby and could only imagine what terrible things they had been up to over break.<p>

"Snape, are you awake?" Avery asked, cautiously sitting down on the edge of his housemate's bed.

"Unfortunately," Severus grumbled, trying to smooth out his lanky hair as he sat up.

"Meet us up in the Astronomy tower in fifteen minutes," Avery whispered, and suddenly his weight disappeared from the bed as he and Mulciber hastily exited the dormitory and made their way back to the common room.

Severus dropped back onto the pillow and quietly groaned. He had a feeling he already knew what it was Avery wanted to talk to him about, but that did not make him move any faster as he changed out of his pajamas and into a pair of black jeans and an oversized black shirt. He ran his fingers quickly through his hair once more, wished he had time for a shower, and climbed the stone steps to the common room.

Dozens of students were milling about, fresh from their holidays, lounging and sharing stories of their vacations abroad or the gifts they received at Christmas. Severus thought he noticed Isadora lurking at one of the tables in the corner, flanked by Scarlett and Callum…and Regulus Black seated very close by, gazing dreamily at her. A grimace flashed across Severus' face as he continued towards the exit; he was dreading the moment when he and Isadora were alone together, for it meant only one thing: she was going to drone on incessantly about her budding new relationship with Regulus.

The corridors were virtually empty as Severus made his way through the entrance hall and up the several flights of stairs that eventually led to the Astronomy tower. The inhabitants of the portraits lining the halls and staircases were still celebrating the holidays; several subjects were stumbling around through different frames, drunkenly following the singular student as he quickly climbed the stairs. Although Avery and Mulciber were in his year, Severus was well aware of how cruel they were to other students, and did not fancy being on the wrong end of their impatience at him being late to this impromptu meeting.

"Finally," he heard Mulciber grumble as Severus took the final steps to the top of the tower two at a time.

"Took you long enough!" Avery hissed, pacing back and forth.

Severus leaned against the battlements, catching his breath. "What exactly was so important that we had to meet up here?" he asked quietly. "Three students gathering on top of the Astronomy tower isn't necessarily what one would call covert, y'know."

Avery glared from under his Neanderthal-like brow as he cracked his knuckles. Mulciber placed a large hand on his friend's shoulder and pulled him back; Severus was toying with his wand, hidden up the sleeve of his shirt. He never knew when Avery was planning on using him as a punching bag.

"Listen, Snape," Mulciber said, stepping out in front of Avery, "we just wanted to talk."

"About?" Severus muttered, crossing his arms.

"Joining the Death Eaters," Avery whispered. "Seeking out the Dark Lord and declaring our allegiance to him, once and for all."

A heavy silence fell on the three of them as a breeze picked up; the only sound to be heard was the rustle of the trees in the Forbidden Forest. Severus cast a wary eye on his companions. Both were much better built for the task of being one of the Dark Lord's henchmen: Avery was beefy and short, and while Mulciber was as tall as Severus, he too had obviously been working out over the summer and holidays. Severus, meanwhile, was tall and lanky, nothing much more than skin and bone. He had no interest in running around, killing and torturing at random; he was much more interested in working on new, illicit potions that would surely please Lord Voldemort.

"Well?" Avery hissed.

"I think you're both well aware that I've already been asked to join," Severus answered nonchalantly.

"By who?" Mulciber asked, raising his eyebrow suspiciously.

"Lucius Malfoy, of course," Severus said with a sneer. "Surely you two have had the pleasure of discussing your post-graduate careers with Mr. Malfoy?" He was pleased to see that both boys shook their heads, surprise in their eyes.

"Lucius spoke with you personally?" Mulciber pressed, crossing the length of the tower to stand in front of Severus.

For all his muscle, Severus could no longer be frightened by Mulciber's physical presence. The larger boy was absolute rubbish at spell deflection, and both knew that Severus could hex him to within an inch of his life before Mulciber could even draw his wand. "Indeed he did," Severus said, pushing Mulciber out of his face.

"What did he say?" Avery asked, joining his two fellow Slytherins on the opposite end of the tower.

Severus laughed quietly, relishing in the obvious envy the two boys were suffering with. "He simply wanted to convey a message from the Dark Lord: that I was welcome to join when I graduated and that the Dark Lord has heard good things about my talents," he answered. Avery and Mulciber stared, apparently unable to believe what they had just heard.

"So…so you'll be joining with us, then?" Mulciber asked, still dumbfounded at the fact that Severus had garnered such attention from the Dark Lord.

"Obviously," Severus said impatiently.

"Do you know anyone else planning to join?" Avery said quietly, looking over his shoulder to check they were still alone.

Severus shrugged and said, "I believe Regulus Black is planning on joining, but that won't be for another two years. Isadora Starbuck may be as well."

A snort escaped Avery as he brought a hand to his mouth, trying to cover up his laughter. "Starbuck? You're kidding, right?" he muttered.

Severus was becoming extremely bored with the conversation, and began to move towards the staircase back into the castle. "For your information, Avery," he hissed, pausing on the first step, "Isadora Starbuck has more talent in her baby finger than you possess in your entire being. And her father is highly praised by the Dark Lord, so I would watch who you laugh at." With that, he swept down the remaining stairs and slammed the door behind him, grateful to be back in the warmth of the castle walls.

* * *

><p>The first week of the new term seemed to fly by. Severus managed to avoid being alone with Avery and Mulciber, who had been enraged at his comment that Isadora was a better fit for the Death Eaters than either of them seemed to be.<p>

He found himself wondering just what about Isadora interested the Dark Lord so much as he waited for her to arrive for her tutoring session that Friday night. He knew she had done exceptionally well in Defense Against the Dark Arts; but he also knew her father was teaching her spells and jinxes over the summer holidays. She was brighter than most of the girls in their year, and while much of the ranks of the Death Eaters was comprised of men, Severus knew that the Dark Lord enjoyed having the odd female here and there; Bellatrix Lestrange was one of Lord Voldemort's prized agents.

Footsteps echoed from the dungeon corridor, alerting Severus to Isadora's imminent arrival. He peered at the entryway questioningly as a soft yellow glow began to illuminate the ancient wooden door; it seemed to grow fainter as the footsteps grew louder. Suddenly, Isadora appeared in the doorway, holding what appeared to be a cupcake with a single candle stuck in the center, the flame obviously magicked to burn brighter.

"Please don't be mad at me," she said cheerily, before Severus could question what was going on.

"Why…what is going on?" he asked, although a distinct tightening in his chest told him he already knew the answer.

"Happy birthday, Sev," Isadora whispered, placing the cupcake on the table in front of him.

Severus stared blankly, first at the cake and then at the girl across from him. He wasn't sure how to proceed from here. Nobody at school had ever given him a birthday cupcake before, not even Lily; his stomach clenched at the thought of her long red tresses. "How…how did you…" he couldn't finish his sentence, he was so confused.

Isadora smirked and threw her book bag and cauldron onto the workspace next to her. "Professor Slughorn told me it was today," she answered, "and I nicked the cake from the kitchens. The house-elves were thrilled to help out."

Severus was unable to move. His parents had rarely celebrated his birthday, and on the off chance that they had, the parties were usually abysmally bleak. He couldn't even remember the last time he had received a proper birthday present.

"Usually people say thank you, y'know," Isaodra said quietly, her arms now folded across her chest.

Severus cleared his throat. "Thanks," he said weakly. It was clear she was taking his silence as an offense. "Nobody has ever done this for me before, it's quite a shock," he explained, hoping to clarify his reaction. "My parents don't even acknowledge my birthday anymore."

"Well that's just horrible," she said, taking the cupcake in her hand. "You have to blow this out, you know." She looked pointedly at the candle; the brightening charm she had used had finally run out, as the flame was diminished.

"Er…" He looked from her to the candle, and with a quick puff of air, extinguished the light. He felt heat spread across his cheeks as he realized how stupid he must have looked doing this. The grin appearing on Isadora's face was not helping.

"So, I think I know what you were trying to get across in your letter," she said as she began unpacking her Potions ingredients. Severus breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that all of them had been replenished, and the list he had given her at the end of last term had not been ignored.

"Oh, really?" he muttered, absentmindedly flipping through his copy of _Advanced Potion Making_.

"Lucius Malfoy told me, two days after you wrote," she said quietly, her hand resting on one of the glass phials she had just removed from her bag. "The Dark Lord wants me to join his ranks."

Severus gazed at her, watching the emotions swim in her eyes. He could tell she was trying to work through the fact that if she said no, she would most assuredly be disowned by her family, and possibly even killed. "Yes, yes he does. He has asked me as well," he replied, picking at the cupcake sitting in front of him.

"I know why I will be of use to him," she whispered as if he hadn't spoken, "but I'm still terrified by the idea of taking the Mark. I see dad wince whenever he is called; it seems so painful." She gripped her left forearm as though she had already been branded herself.

"Considering how much pain you'll be in if you refuse, I think taking the Mark is the least of your problems, Isadora," Severus said, trying to ease her fears. He wanted to ask what it was the Dark Lord had asked of her, why she knew she would be so useful to his plan. But the fear emanating from her eyes was enough to make him hold off until a better time.

She sighed and shook herself, continuing to pull ingredients out of her bag. He watched her carefully; it seemed that she had forced the fear out of her mind to concentrate on the present, a skill she would require when under the employ of the Dark Lord. "Shall we get started?" she asked with a shaky voice.


	12. Shining Through

**12. Shining Through**

* * *

><p>Isadora couldn't have been happier. In a matter of weeks she had managed to bully four first years into stepping through the trick step on one of the moving staircases, leaving them to dangle awkwardly, terrified by what had just happened to them. She had received top marks on her most recent Astronomy essay (explain the significance of the North Star to Muggle and Wizarding mariners of the 18th century); and her relationship with Regulus was carrying on quite well (considering his track record). She was in such a great mood that she was actually managing to not turn her Potions class into a complete fiasco. Even Severus seemed impressed by her current concentration.<p>

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he whispered to her at their shared workstation as he tipped chopped aloe root into his cauldron.

"Nothing!" Isasdora said for what felt like the tenth time. "I'm just having a good day is all. You should be proud!"

"Why, because for once you aren't making it seem like I can't teach my craft to another human being?" he snapped back as his cauldron hissed. White smoke billowed out beyond the rim; Isadora could just make out a smirk on his pale face as he, as usual, finished his potion before the rest of the class.

Professor Slughorn came by the table after chatting animatedly with Lily Evans. A large grin appeared on his chubby face as he exclaimed, "Top marks, as usual, Severus!" He jotted down a few notes on his parchment and waddled away. As he left, his large belly knocked the corner of the table, sending Severus' textbook to the dust strewn floor.

"I'll get it," Isadora muttered, as Severus was too busy staring longingly across the dungeon at the back of Lily's head. She had glanced over momentarily when Slughorn had announced Severus' name, but looked away as soon as she made eye contact with the Slytherin.

Isadora bent down and picked up the book, flipping through the pages. She was quite used to seeing Severus' cramped notes scribbled down in the margins, correcting the original author in some places and making changes where he saw fit in others. She turned pages to the back cover and gazed curiously down at the note scrawled towards the bottom: _This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince_.

She laughed as she handed the book back to him. Severus was now adding aloe root to her own potion, which was beginning to take on a bogey-green color.

"What's funny?" he asked, his black eyes peering at her suspiciously through the fumes.

"Oh, just what you wrote in your book," she answered, stirring the potion in front of her. "'The Half-Blood Prince,' who is that?"

He was staring at her inquisitively, making Isadora wonder if he was going to answer, or if he was about to sabotage her potion for asking such a stupid question.

"My mum's maiden name is Prince," he said flatly as he bottled a phial of his potion. "You figure it out."

He left Isadora at the workstation, slowly making his way to the front to hand in his sample. Isadora stared after him, piecing together his horrifically vague clue. As he made his way back (taking a detour, she noticed, past the Gryffindor table), it dawned on her. It must have shown on her face, for when Severus returned to their workstation, he asked, "Work it out?"

She nodded, extinguishing the flame underneath her cauldron. "That's quite clever," she whispered as she bottled her own sample.

"Yes, I pride myself on my knack for clever plays on words," he replied sardonically. He pointed his wand at his cauldron and muttered, "_Evanesco_," and instantly the remaining liquid disappeared.

Isadora rolled her eyes as she marched her sample up to Slughorn's desk. She arrived at the same time as Lily Evans; the two girls shared a heated glare before returning to their respective tables. Isadora noticed the other Gryffindors lean their heads closer to Lily as she whispered to them and nodded animatedly towards the Slytherin end of the room.

Professor Slughorn seemed to realize that a fair few of his N.E.W.T students were now standing idly around, huddled amongst themselves, chatting quietly. "Oh, did I not mention that you may leave once you have submitted your work?" he said quite loudly, so the whole room could hear. "You know the homework! See you all next week!"

Isadora hastily crammed her book and scales into her now empty cauldron (Severus had cleared it while she was gone) and made fast for the door back to the Slytherin common room. She had a stack of books and atlases waiting for her in her usual corner and was quite desperate to get back to reading them. Her father had assigned her extra reading so she would be prepared for another summer in France, and she did not want to disappoint him. Especially now that she had her orders…

"Mind if I share your corner?" Severus asked, startling her. She had forgotten he was behind her. "The seventh years have taken over the other tables."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Isadora replied, dropping her things under the table and pulling a map close. She watched Severus out of the corner of her eye as he pulled several library books out of his overstuffed bag and spread them out over his half of the table. A long roll of parchment was peeking out of one of the books, notes crammed together to the very edge of the page. "When do you take your Apparition test?" Isadora asked as she scanned the map in front of her.

Severus pulled out a small, tattered notebook and flipped through the pages; it appeared he actually kept a homework planner. "Sometime in April," he answered, replacing the schedule and returning to his notes.

Isadora was quite jealous of her friend; ever since he had turned seventeen, Severus had been carrying himself differently. Perhaps it was because he was finally of age and the trace had finally lifted from him, or maybe it was because he felt more confident in his abilities now that he was allowed to practice them at will outside of the castle. He had done exceptionally well in their Apparition lessons, and soon he would finally be able to travel from one place to another with extraordinary ease. Isadora was desperate to turn seventeen and be able to do the same, but unfortunately she had to wait until July.

As they sat in the corner in silence, Isadora realized she could see puffs of steam every time she exhaled. With a shiver, she excused herself momentarily and rushed down to the girls' dormitory, returning with a thick black jumper. The only downside to living in the dungeons was it was constantly freezing in the common room, no matter how large the fire.

As she made her way back to the corner table, she noticed Severus had taken an interest in the map she had left sitting out. He watched as small gusts of air blew through the evergreens that covered much of northern Europe; he was so interested that he jumped when she returned to her seat.

"It's pretty neat, isn't it?" she said as she pulled the map back to her and dipped her quill in the ink well.

"Is this what you're doing when you spend your nights in the library?" Severus asked, still watching the map move.

Isadora smirked. "For the most part, yes," she answered, thrilled that, for once, he was interested in something other than Potions or landing the Marauders in detention. "It's why the Dark Lord is so interested in having me on his side."

Severus' eyes darted from the parchment to her. "Wait," he said in a hushed voice, looking over his shoulder to make sure they weren't overheard. "You made this?" He pointed to the map sitting between them.

She laughed quietly, blushing. "No, of course not. But it's my specialty, I suppose," she whispered. "I've had quite the obsession with maps and atlases since I was young. My father has been sending me to France to learn from the masters. I was hoping to get an apprenticeship in Paris once I graduated, but now…"

"You'll be serving a greater purpose," Severus finished, although that wasn't quite what Isadora was going to say. "You should be proud, you know. I don't even understand the magic behind wizarding maps."

"Most wizards don't, honestly," Isadora said, feeling a swelling of pride as he admitted that he wasn't better than her at something. "Once you _do_ understand it, though, it all seems quite simple."

She watched his eyebrows rise and his arms fold across his chest. "Oh really?" he said cockily. "Well then, do explain." He waved a hand across the table, as if opening it up for her to speak.

Isadora sighed and turned the map so Severus could see it better. "This is a seasonal map. So, obviously, it tells the reader the various seasons of whatever part of the world the map is made to represent. But because they're wizarding maps, they actually change with the seasons. So," she pulled out a list of what appeared to be ingredients, although they weren't things one could buy at the Apothecary in Diagon Alley, "the mapmakers have to travel to each area on the map and collect living specimens. Usually just saplings or young plants will do, but occasionally you have to collect blood samples."

Severus was resting his head on his hand; she could tell he was trying to feign boredom, but a gleam in his eyes told her he was genuinely interested in what she was saying.

"Anyway," she continued, "the samples have to be mixed into a potion, which is then added to the inks used to draw the maps." She pointed to the small signature at the very bottom of the map they were looking at. "Each map is drawn by hand and takes a ridiculous amount of time to create, simply because of how much effort has to go into making the ink. Needless to say, not many wizards choose it as a profession."

She sat back in her chair and pulled the sleeves of her jumper down over her hands; the cool dungeon air was beginning to make her fingers numb. Severus sat upright and tapped a slender finger on the map, pondering for a moment before asking, "What use does the Dark Lord have for seasonal maps?"

Isadora pulled out a different map. This one only covered the British Isles; each region had a number, rather like the tickers at Kings Cross, but the numbers were constantly increasing. Smaller numbers written underneath the larger ones were also increasing, although at a slower rate than the one above. "He'll probably want a map like this, a population map," she whispered.

The tone of her voice must have given her away, because the way Severus' eyes snapped up to meet hers told her he understood exactly what she was talking about. "Muggle-borns," he said quietly. "That would make perfect sense."

Isadora didn't like how excited he sounded at the idea. "It means I'll need blood for the ink to work properly," she said, disgusted at the prospect. "It means I'll have to kill at least a dozen Mudbloods before the map can be used."

Severus stared at her, his eyes narrowing. Isadora wasn't sure if Legilimency worked without a wand and the incantation, but it certainly felt like he was trying to read her thoughts. "And the thought of acting in the name of the Dark Lord…_repulses_ you?" he hissed.


	13. Fragile

**12. Fragile**

* * *

><p>Severus did not mean to use Legilimency on Isadora, but suddenly he was swimming through her thoughts. He pushed past the images of Regulus Black, whose face seemed to constantly be in view, and came upon Zachary Starbuck, staring down his daughter, explaining to her how important her role in the Death Eater circle would be, and how much it meant to their family for her to join. Severus could see how terrified Isadora was at the prospect, how excitement mingled with fear and…yes, there it was, a distinct repulsion to the act of killing.<p>

"Stop it," he heard Isadora whisper, and he pulled himself out of her thoughts, back to reality.

"Stop what, exactly?" he asked innocently, handing the map back to her.

She pulled her eyes away from him, focusing on the book now in front of her. "Forget it," she replied with a huff. She stared blankly at her textbook, completely unfocused on the task she had set herself. "I'm going to the library."

Severus did not protest as Isadora hastily stuffed her books and parchment back into her bag. He turned in his chair and watched her make her way across the common room, her robes billowing out behind her as she practically ran to the portal exiting into the corridors.

"What was that about?"

Severus grimaced when he turned back to the table to discover Regulus Black sitting across from him. Regulus' arms were crossed, and he was staring accusingly at his fellow Slytherin.

"Just a minor disagreement, Black," Severus answered as he began to pack up his own things. "And none of your concern," he added coolly when Regulus did not leave the table to follow Isadora.

A grin spread across Regulus' face. "I'm not here to fight with you, Snape," he said, handing Severus the remaining books on the table. "But she is my girlfriend, after all, so I think I'm allowed to worry."

Without responding, Severus swept away from the corner table and made his way for the dormitory stairs. The echo of shoes on the stone floors told him that he was not alone; he turned to see Black, still on his tail, looking slightly annoyed that he had been so quickly dismissed.

"Listen, Snape," the fifth year said pointedly, "I don't know what just happened, but she's going through a lot right now. Both of her parents are –"

"I am well aware of Starbuck's family problems," Severus cut in as he threw his bag onto the bed and stowed his wand up his sleeve. "I believe you know as well as I do that she is terrified of following in her father's footsteps, even though to do so is now the only choice she has left."

Regulus sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. Severus noted with disdain that every day, the young boy in front of him grew to resemble his older brother more and more; perhaps not in allegiances, but certainly in looks. Severus could not understand why Regulus felt the need to protect Isadora from a future which Regulus had already chosen. Surely Isadora already knew of her boyfriend's deep interest in the Dark Arts, and what was more, the Dark Lord himself?

"Right, well, I guess I'm leaving," he heard Regulus say.

Severus nodded in reply as he began sorting through a rough wooden box which served as his personal apothecary. Glass jars were neatly arranged, each holding within a particular ingredient necessary for a vast array of complex potions he had taught himself to brew over the summer. He gazed at each of the jars fondly. He had quickly come to realize that the combination of his skill in the Dark Arts as well as his knack for potion-making was his ticket to leave, once and for all, the wretched life he was forced to return to at the end of every term.

He picked up the bottle of asphodel root and frowned: it was nearly empty. Luckily, Severus was on excellent terms with Professor Slughorn, and had been given the password to his private store room at the beginning of the school year. Not even Lily Evans could boast to that accomplishment.

Severus was ashamed to admit that he had still not gotten over Lily's decision to end their friendship. The very sight of her caused a wave of emotion to crash over him. While he did not outwardly show it, even to Isadora, inwardly he felt himself becoming more and more hardened against the very feelings which had brought him so close to Lily to begin with.

Jamming the glass bottle into his pocket, Severus hastily made his way through the common room and out into the damp dungeon corridor. Professor Slughorn's store room was down at the far end of the hall, nearer to the Potions classroom. As Severus passed the stairwell leading up to the entrance hall, he paused and listened to the voices echoing from above, sneering as he recognized the arrogant tones of one as James Potter. A fainter, calmer voice came afterwards, which could only belong to Remus Lupin. Severus found himself sneaking up the stairs, crouching as he neared the landing, to listen as James paced back and forth, clearly distraught.

"Tell me again what happened?" Lupin asked, trying to smooth out the creases in his robes. Severus noticed quite a few newly sewn stitches in the shoulders, where the robes must have torn when Lupin had last made his transformation.

James sighed, exasperated. "I was waiting outside the Transfiguration classroom. She was talking to Professor McGonagall, because she _always_ talks to professors after classes," he started, continuing to pace up and down the hall. "When she finally came out, I said hello, very politely, and offered to carry her books to Charms for her."

Severus felt bile rise in his throat as he began to understand just who Potter was talking about.

"Very polite," Remus said, chuckling slightly. "And her reaction?"

"You'd have thought I dropped a Dungbomb right in front of her!" James cried. His wand, clutched in his hand, shot red sparks, echoing its owner's confusion. "She curled her nose and shoved right past me as if I wasn't even there!"

"Did you try saying anything to her?" Remus asked as he picked at the fraying edge of his sleeve. Severus could just see the hint of a smirk on the prefect's face.

"Of course! I had to run to catch up with her, mind you, but I asked her if she had noticed how nice I had been to the first years lately," Potter explained. "To which she said she had not, but she was 'glad to hear of it.' So I asked her if we could grab drinks at the Three Broomsticks next Hogsmeade trip."

He paused and looked towards the staircase leading up into the castle. Severus pressed himself against the wall as he heard distinct footsteps, and could only assume that Sirius Black was about to join his fellow Gryffindors in their pathetic therapy session.

"Now you're making Remus suffer through your sob story, James?" Sirius' voice called as he slid down the banister. "Honestly, this is just sad, mate."

Lupin's soft voice carried down as he pressed, "What did she say to Hogsmeade, then?"

James had stopped pacing and started at Remus, his face flushed with embarrassment as he muttered, "She said I still needed to grow up."

Sirius howled in laughter. Severus could not help but grin at the fact that, once again, James had been rejected.

"That's it?" Remus asked sympathetically.

"She kindly reminded me that I needed to make changes for myself, not to impress her," Potter said, so quietly that Severus had to strain his neck to hear.

"Well, she's right, you know," Remus admitted, crossing his arms defiantly.

Severus had heard all he needed to hear. He turned on his heel, a grin on his face, as he made his way back down the stairs. Suddenly, before reached the lower landing, he felt something sharp hit him square in the back of the head. When he whipped around, Sirius and James were racing down the stairs after him.

"Didn't your mummy ever teach you not to eavesdrop, Snivellus?" Black yelled, reaching for his wand.

Severus was faster, and in a flash held his wand directly at James' throat. "You two have no business being down here," he hissed, his eyes darting between his two enemies.

"We have just as much a right to be down here as you do!" Potter replied, his face red with anger.

"Really? I hadn't noticed either of you had made it as far as N.E.W.T-level Potions," Severus said simply, watching as the corner of Sirius' mouth twitched.

Remus finally appeared at the bottom of the stairs, though the look on his face told Severus that the werewolf was starting to get fed up with the constant fights his two friends kept choosing to pick with the Slytherin.

"What did you hear, Snape?" Sirius demanded, his hand inching slowly towards his pocket.

"Oi!" a familiar female voice called from the stairwell. Remus muttered a hello, which was promptly ignored as Isadora made her way down to the dungeons. When she noticed who else was involved, Severus noticed her eyes roll, as if she too was sick of the never-ending rivalry. "What the hell is going on down here?"

"Nothing that concerns you, Starbuck," James muttered without so much as a backward glance; his brown eyes were focused on Severus. "Now tell me, Snape, what did you hear?"

Severus laughed contemptuously as he lowered his wand to point at Potter's chest. "Enough to make my day, that's for damn sure."

He had taken his eyes off of Sirius for a second too long. Severus was suddenly on the ground, his left eye throbbing as Black pulled his fist away to wind up for a second attack. If it hadn't been for Remus pulling Black away, Severus would most likely have ended up with two bruised eyes. "That's enough, Sirius!" he heard the werewolf yell.

Severus was back on his feet, slightly dizzy, but his wand once again leveled at the group of Gryffindors. Before he had time to jinx them, Isadora's hand appeared, forcing Severus' arm down, his wand now pointed at the ground.

"You're a bloody useless prefect!" Isadora jeered as she gripped Severus' arm tightly. "Now get out of here before I find Professor Slughorn!"

Severus watched as Remus pushed James and Sirius back up the stairs. The werewolf gave Severus a sympathetic shrug and shook his head before following. Only when the echo of their footsteps had finally disappeared did Isadora release Severus' arm.

"Do you want to get expelled?" she hissed as she picked her bag up from the foot of the stairs. "Honestly, you need to get over whatever childish –"

"Did I ask for your opinion?" Severus barked, checking his pocket to make sure the glass bottle hadn't shattered. His eyebrow began to throb as a bruise began to form.

Isadora stared at him, obviously seething. "You're lucky I came back when I did, Sev," she said angrily. "Three against one isn't a fair fight."

Severus scoffed as he turned down the corridor towards the store room. "I could have taken them," he called as her footsteps indicated she was following him. He muttered the password to the storeroom as he came upon a dark wooden door; the lock clicked open for him.

"You're going to get yourself killed!" Isadora exclaimed.

Severus ignored her as he quickly found a large jar of asphodel and began helping himself to several of the root sprigs. When he turned around to exit, Isadora was standing mere inches from his face, her violet eyes mad with anger.

"We're about to enter the service of one of the darkest wizards this world has ever known," she whispered, "and you're acting all cocky about defending yourself! You wonder why I'm nervous about joining; it's because fools like you think you can take on a dozen Aurors single-handed! You can't!"

He didn't think he had ever seen Isadora this angry before. Her teeth were bared and her breathing was heavy, and she looked like she was ready to attack him at a moment's notice. Gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back, out of the storeroom, so the two of them were standing out in the corridor again. The door swung itself shut and magically sealed itself.

"Are you listening to me?" she demanded, swatting away his hand.

"Yes," Severus whispered as he stowed the now-full bottle in his pocket. "I appreciate your concern." He turned from her and began walking back to the common room.

"You appreciate my concern?" Isadora hissed as she caught up with him.

"What else do you want me to say?" Severus asked as they rounded a corner. "Thanks for swooping in and saving my ass?"

"Well…yes!" she sputtered.

Severus laughed as she muttered the password and stepped into the common room. Many students were getting ready to leave, some to class, others to the library.

"Look, Isadora," he said as he followed her to the head of the stairs leading to the girls' dormitory. "I appreciate you showing up when you did. Just…don't worry about me so much. You have enough on your plate as it is with your parents."

She glared at him, her arms crossed. "I'm just sick of you pulling dumb crap like that," she said quietly.

Severus wanted to demand to know whether she thought he enjoyed the constant sneak attacks that Potter and Black mounted against him, but he was sick of arguing with her. Instead, he muttered, "Me, too."

This answer seemed to satiate Isadora for the moment, and she began descending down to the dormitory. Severus turned to walk away when he heard her call, "Don't go to class without me!" He smirked and turned down the staircase to his own dorm, where his books and class materials were stowed.


	14. Fire Flies and Empty Skies

**14. Fire Flies and Empty Skies**

* * *

><p>The remaining months of sixth year seemed to pass in a haze, as classes became increasingly intense for the N.E.W.T students, and final exams began to approach. The miserable mix of sleet and rain that accompanied February and March became a long, drawn-out deluge throughout April. When May finally arrived, bringing with it fantastically blue skies and warm, spirit-lifting sun, the sixth years had become permanently confined to the library and their common rooms. Many could not be seen behind the stacks of books and parchment that towered around them. The Great Hall was unnaturally silent at mealtimes, as students quickly stuffed food into their mouths, took leftovers for later, and rushed back out to continue studying. Severus had been forced to drop Isadora's tutoring sessions to twice a month instead of once a week due to the dramatic increase of homework they were both receiving. While they continued to spend time together, they rarely spoke. Half the time, Isadora couldn't even see Severus over the wall of books he had built around himself.<p>

It was no surprise to Isadora when Severus returned to the common room one rainy April afternoon, his robes soaked through but his face a little brighter than usual – he had passed his Apparition test on the first go. Although he couldn't show off his skill inside the castle grounds, he had promised to make as many impromptu visits to Isadora's house over the summer as he could manage without being Splinched.

June arrived faster than anticipated. Isadora wasn't sure if the Easter holidays had even happened, or when classes had officially stopped meeting to begin the hellish week that was exam time. She saw Regulus as often as possible, but as he was in the midst of studying for his O.W.L's, their meetings were usually brief. Isadora watched as, between study breaks, Regulus would bury his nose in the _Daily Prophet_, scouring the newspaper for any sign of Lord Voldemort's recent activity. Her boyfriend had begun to create a scrapbook of sorts, clipping out any article related to the Dark Lord and treating it as though it were gold. He was becoming more obsessed than most of the sixth and seventh years.

After several days of endless pleading, Severus had finally consented to a last-minute study session with Isadora the night before their Potions exam. She knew she would have no trouble on the written section of the exam; her knowledge of the theory was solid. It was the practical side of the exam she was terrified of. Even after three hours of practicing with one of the best Potions students Hogwarts had seen in a decade, Isadora felt she was nowhere near prepared. She would have preferred to stay longer; however, Severus had threatened to Body-Bind her if she demanded he teach her anything more that night.

Miraculously, her cauldron did not explode the next morning, when she added the final ingredient to her Draught of Living Death. She had given up on keeping her hair in its usual bun after ten minutes; when Professor Slughorn came around to check her potion, several thick strands were hanging down across her shoulders. Her fringe was sticking to her forehead, which was coated in a thin layer of sweat from standing over a steaming cauldron for over an hour. After Slughorn had jotted down a few notes, he gave her a wink and told her she was allowed to leave. Isadora rushed out of the humid dungeon, up the stairs to the entrance hall, and out into the courtyard, where a gentle breeze was toying with the remaining leaves from last fall. Severus was lurking in a corner, which she quickly joined.

It seemed impossible when she woke up to her packed trunk, her exam results still lying on the floor where they had fallen out of her hand the night before. She had passed everything, including Potions, with flying colors. An odd sort of relief fell over her as she made her way down to the Hogwarts Express with her fellow Slytherins, on their way back home after another year of school had finally ended. This time, though, she sat with Severus and Regulus instead of Scarlett and Callum; the two boys in her compartment discussed the Dark Arts for the majority of the ride back to London, until Avery came looking for Severus, who excused himself and did not reappear for the remainder of the trip. Isadora didn't mind his absence too much, for it gave her some much-needed alone time with Regulus.

* * *

><p>A feeling of absolute freedom washed over Isadora when she woke on the morning of July first: she was finally seventeen, finally of age, and finally allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts. She found herself wishing she already had her Apparition license – it seemed like such a long walk from her bedroom to the kitchen. She snatched up her wand and used a Summoning Charm to bring her jumper over from the closet; she was so excited, the force of the spell made the jumper smack her in the face.<p>

"Happy birthday, darling!" Adelaide cried when Isadora finally descended the stairs to the first floor. Several presents were laid out on the kitchen table, which Isadora immediately began to tear into as her tea went cold. She received a beautiful set of gold earrings from her mother; a dark mahogany wand case from her grandparents in Scotland; a silver ring with a black stone embedded in it from Regulus; a small globe that hovered in midair and turned of its own accord from Severus; and a set of ornately embroidered black robes from her father. When Isadora glanced at Zachary with confusion upon opening his gift, he smiled knowingly and returned to reading his paper.

Adelaide made a quick call through the Floo Network to the Apparition Office at the Ministry to find out when the next available test date was. Isadora immediately signed up for July twelfth, confident she would pass on the first go. She had taken extra lessons in Hogsmeade throughout April and May.

"Isadora, could you come here for a moment?" her father called from his study after she had gotten dressed.

She gently pushed the door open and glided into the brightly-lit room beyond. Books lined the walls and several candles floated freely above the desk she approached, similar to the candles that constantly illuminated the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Zachary Starbuck was seated on the opposite side of the desk, a letter clutched in his hand. "Yes?" Isadora asked, taking a seat in one of the soft leather chairs. Her father smiled and passed the letter across the desk to her. After a quick read, the warmth drained from her face, and she felt sick. "Today?" she whispered, her voice quivering.

"He wants to meet you as soon as possible," Zachary answered. "You obviously won't be taking the Mark today, as you're still under the eye of Dumbledore while you're at school. But you will need to be blindfolded," he held up a strip of black fabric, "as the Dark Lord does not want anyone knowing the location of his hideout."

Isadora could feel her hands shaking as she gripped the arms of the chair. "What – what do I say? How am I supposed to act?" she asked, her voice barely making it out of her throat.

Zachary moved from behind the desk and took his daughter's hand, pulling her out of the chair and forcing her to stand. "You must bow. Do not speak until he addresses you," he explained as he draped the blindfold over her eyes. "He appreciates it when you kiss his robes. In fact, I insist that you do this. Do not break his gaze; he considers it weak if you cannot hold eye contact with him. And you must not lie."

Isadora could feel the grave importance of her father's words as he tightened the knot holding the fabric over her eyes. She felt him kiss her gently on the forehead, and clutch her hand tightly in his. "Are we Apparating?" she asked, but before the words had fully escaped her mouth, she felt the uncomfortable tightness in her chest, forcing the air out of her lungs as they traveled through nothing to some unknown location.

When she could breathe again, she heard the echo of dozens of other voices chatting away. Several greeted Zachary as he removed Isadora's blindfold. When her sight refocused, she realized she was standing in a large hall, surrounded by Death Eaters. They were all clad in black robes, each with a unique design embroidered into the fabric. Her father's gift suddenly made sense: he had given her the robes she would wear once she was in the service of the Dark Lord.

Zachary pinched Isadora's arm as a hush fell over the room. Seemingly from nowhere, a hooded figure appeared. By the way the Death Eaters immediately lowered their heads in respect, Isadora knew Lord Voldemort had just entered the hall. She dropped her head and stared at the floor, her heart pounding.

"Miss Starbuck," a snake-like voice said quietly from under the hood. "At last, we meet."

Isadora instinctively dropped to her knees and kissed the hem of the Dark Lord's robes. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that her father did the same. "It is an honor, my Lord," she whispered, forcing her voice to remain strong. She had thought endlessly about this moment, discussed it in detail with both Severus and Regulus, but she had never been able to imagine just how thrilled – and terrified – she would truly feel when the time came to meet the Dark Lord.

"Please," he said, and she felt his ice-cold fingertips lift her chin and pull her back onto her feet. He patted her gently on the shoulder.

A shudder ran down her spine as Isadora continued to stare at the floor, unsure of where else to look. Her face was flushed, even though the rest of her body was freezing.

"I have heard many things about you, Isadora," Lord Voldemort started, pacing slowly in a circle. "Your skills at cartography have been a subject of much conversation between myself and your father."

"Thank you, my Lord," Isadora said, trying to sound much braver than she felt.

"I have asked your father to bring you here today so I may offer you a place among our ranks, one you have graduated," the Dark Lord explained, his voice seeming to never rising above a whisper.

"I – I plan on accepting your offer, my Lord," Isadora stammered. She felt her father's warm hand on her shoulder.

"Excellent!" Voldemort clapped his hands together, which seemed to startle several Death Eaters. Isadora was so shocked by this exclamation that her head snapped up, and for a moment she and the Dark Lord locked eyes, fey violet gazing fearfully into snake-like red. "I look forward to seeing you again soon," he said smoothly.

And like that, it was over. The Dark Lord swept silently from the hall, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared. After several anxious moments, the Death Eaters resumed their talking, as if the most powerful Dark wizard they had ever seen hadn't just been in the room. Isadora watched as her father spoke to some of the Death Eaters nearest them. She couldn't shake the fear still pumping through her veins, nor the shiver that seemed to have nestled in her spine. She found herself desperate to escape the hall and return home, to the comfort of her bed.

Without warning, her father came up from behind her and replaced the blindfold over her eyes. A yelp caught in her throat as he whispered, "You did wonderfully," and grasped her hand in his. After a few uncomfortable, breathless seconds, they were standing in the garden, and Isadora welcomed the warmth of the sun on her face more than she ever had before.


	15. Parallel Highway

**15. Parallel Highway**

* * *

><p>Severus paced the dark alley behind the Leaky Cauldron, waiting impatiently for Isadora to emerge from the back door of the pub. A faint <em>clink<em> sound came from his bag each time it tapped against his leg; he needed to refill his stores at the Apothecary. Isadora had written him the date and time of her Apparition test and practically begged him to meet her at the Leaky Cauldron afterwards. There was a sense of urgency in her writing, and though Severus could guess what she wanted to discuss, he was still surprised at how desperately she seemed to want to speak to him. Why not Regulus? If what he suspected had taken place, Regulus would be equally (if not more) willing to hear about what had happened, down to every precise detail.

A loud _crack_ echoed in the cramped space behind the pub, and Isadora appeared out of thin air, practically on top of one of the several dust bins lining the brick wall. Severus heard a muffled yell of pain as one of the bins fell onto her leg.

"The Ministry gave you your Apparition license?" Severus asked incredulously as he watched Isadora try to right herself, dusting her robes off. "Did you have to Confund the examiner?" He smirked triumphantly when Isadora glared at him, her robes finally clean.

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" she hissed as she tapped an indiscriminate brick on the wall beside them and watched as, slowly, the portal to Diagon Alley opened for them.

"I've been told on multiple occasions that I am," Severus retorted as they made their way down the cobblestone street. Wandering the alley were dozens of witches and wizards of varying ages, clothed in almost every color of the rainbow. Severus grimaced as they passed a group of particularly batty-looking witches emerging from Flourish and Blotts, all wearing some of the most hideous neon robes he had ever had the misfortune of seeing.

"Who let them out of Saint Mungo's?" Isadora asked, raising her eyebrows as they passed the gaggle of old women, who were currently squawking to each other about the latest issue of _Witch Weekly_, a copy gripped tightly in each of their bony hands.

Severus snorted as the two of them hurried past; one of the witches seemed to have overheard Isadora's comment and was glaring over at the two students making their way through the crowd. A few youngsters darted past, nearly knocking Severus over into the outdoor seating at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. The children's parents followed close behind, looking exhausted and glancing at Severus apologetically.

"Remember when we were that young? Thrilled to finally be off to Hogwarts?" Isadora said quietly, watching the kids run further up the street.

"I think I was just thrilled to finally not have to spend every night at my parent's house, honestly," Severus admitted, pulling out a long list of ingredients he needed to purchase as they neared the Apothecary. "The Snape household was never what you would call 'kid-friendly.'"

"That's unfortunate," he heard Isadora say in a sympathetic tone. He shrugged as he pushed the door to the Apothecary open, relieved to see it wasn't flooded with Hogwarts students.

"God, I always forget how bad it smells in here," Isadora muttered from somewhere behind him, but Severus was not listening. His reaction to the Apothecary was quite the opposite: he truly loved this store. Filled to the ceiling with all sorts of ingredients, it was the one shop in Diagon Alley where he had to make sure he kept on task, or for sure he would spend all of his pocket money on various ingredients he would have no use for. Shimmering silver unicorn horns were hanging behind the counter, under what Severus could just see was a clever protective charm, to keep thieving hands at bay. A hand-written sign next to the horns alerted interested shoppers that the going rate was fifteen Galleons. Next to the solid horns were golden taffeta pouches, each containing a few ounces of pre-ground unicorn horn, for those who did not possess the necessary tools required to grind the horn themselves.

Severus' eyes wandered around the large circular shop. He had visited this place so often, and yet every time he found something new to admire. A long scroll of parchment was tacked to the wall over an empty glass urn that seemed to have been stained red by whatever it once held. Severus felt Isadora's presence next to him as he examined the list of names written on the parchment, a faded grey quill hanging by a thread next to it.

"What do you suppose this is for?" she inquired, pointing at the list.

"Re'em blood," he whispered, fascinated that the Apothecary would carry such an ingredient. The stains on the inside of the urn looked hard, as if it had been empty for some time. He noticed her questioning glance and explained, "It's used in Strengthening Potions, or you can drink it straight if you wish. Re'em blood gives the drinker incredible strength, but it's an amazingly rare substance to come by."

"Why?" Isadora asked as she examined a jar of scarab beetles close by.

"Re'em are native only to North America and eastern Asia. Their laws governing the protection of magical beasts are different than ours, and the market has restrictions on how ingredients taken from living creatures can be distributed. Needless to say," Severus said, taking note of the long list of those wishing to be notified once more stock was produced, "it's a hot commodity where the demand exceeds the supply."

Isadora smirked as he gave another longing glance at the unicorn horns behind the counter. "You aren't going to put your name on the list?" she said, handing him the quill.

Severus shook his head. "It's a waste of time. That blood has been congealed for at least a year, maybe more. By the looks of this list I'd have to wait until I was thirty before I could get my hands on an ounce of the blood." He sighed as he said this. Using Re'em blood in Strengthening Potions made the solutions much more stable than the mixture of salamander blood and pomegranate juice now used to substitute.

"Why are we in here again?"

Severus noted the hint of disgust in Isadora's voice and saw that she had just bumped into the large glass tank containing thousands of live leeches. He stifled a laugh as he looked at his shopping list and made his way over to the large wall full of drawers, each labeled in beautiful hand-written script; dangling off each drawer was a copper scoop. The man who owned the Apothecary, a very old, retired Potions master, had come to know Severus over the years, and nodded feebly as the young man began filling his own glass bottles with the needed ingredients. He was particularly careful when handling the monkshood flowers, as he did not want to get the oil onto his skin; if any of it penetrated his body it could be deadly.

Ten minutes later and his change purse Galleons lighter, Severus and Isadora reemerged into Diagon Alley, into the bright sunlight that temporarily blinded both of them.

"Now, what was it you were so desperate to discuss with me?" Severus asked as he secured the lock on his bag.

Isadora glanced around, seemingly uncomfortable with the amount of people milling about. "Not here," she whispered, and he followed her down a side-alley, which took them directly to Knockturn Alley.

There were very few wizards on this side of the street. Those that required a visit to Knockturn Alley quickly made themselves scarce by visiting the shops necessary and quickly fleeing the scene, as if ashamed to be caught visiting such a disreputable place. Isadora seemed to know the layout better than Severus, for she set across the way to a dark wooden door, revealing within a pub dingier than the Hog's Head.

"Miss Starbuck?" the barman questioned as he wiped down the counter. "Does your –"

"My parents need not know about my visit today, Barnabas," Isadora said quickly. "I am of age, I am allowed in here without them."

The barman nodded and waved his hand as if to welcome them. The pub was practically empty; two figures draped in black sat in the booth furthest from the door, huddled over pints, their faces appearing chiseled in the candlelight. Isadora led Severus to a table and sat down, pushing the candle out from between them.

"Nice place," Severus muttered sarcastically as he placed his bag on the seat next to him.

Ignoring his comment, Isadora began to speak, "I met him, Sev. I met the Dark Lord."

Severus stared blankly at the young woman across from him. His assumptions had been correct. "I assumed you would have, since you're of age now," he said quietly, folding his hands on the table. "I met him as well."

Her eyebrows rose and she leaned in close. "When?" she demanded. "I didn't see you!"

He smirked. "Of course you didn't, we weren't all there on the same day!"

Isadora huffed, but did not lean away. "What did he say to you?" she asked.

"He explained why I was there and asked whether or not I planned on accepting his offer come graduation," Severus replied simply. "I imagine he did the same for you."

She nodded, brushing her mutinous fringe out of her face. Severus felt the urge to suggest she trim it back, but the idea had already been shot down twice. "How did you get there? My father had to bring me, and blindfolded at that!" she said. It seemed she was offended that she couldn't be trusted with the location of Lord Voldemort's hideout.

"Avery's father brought the both of us," Severus said in barely a whisper, unsure of the allegiance of the two men on the other side of the pub. "We were blindfolded as well. Everyone is until they receive the Mark."

Isadora picked indiscriminately at her fingernails. "You're joining, of course, right?" she asked.

"I don't think I'd be sitting here if I had told the Dark Lord otherwise," Severus answered with a smirk.

She stared at him, her lips trembling as she asked what he could only assume was a question she feared to voice, "Were you scared?"

They sat quietly for a moment, the question lingering in the air, before Severus answered, "I think we'd be fools if we weren't."

* * *

><p>An hour later, Severus found himself back in the flat he rented during the summer holidays, carefully removing each jar from his bag and stowing them in the niches on the wall, organized alphabetically, as always. The flat was cleaner than usual; it seemed Severus was rarely here anymore, now that he had the option of Apparating to whatever location he so desired. Quite frequently he would find himself perched on a rocky moor, or else staring out over jagged cliffs into the sea.<p>

As he stepped back to admire the wall of ingredients before him, he heard a loud _crack_, and thought for sure he had just shattered a jar he had forgotten about. When he turned, however, he saw the figure of Isadora, shaking, sinking to the floor. Her face was stained with tears.

"What – are you alright?" he asked, dropping down next to her.

Her shoulders heaved as she continued to sob, a letter clutched in her hand. Her mouth was moving, but she seemed unable to speak. Severus pulled a glass from the table next to him, pointed his wand at it, and muttered, "_Aquamenti_." A jet of water poured from the tip of his wand into the glass. He handed it to her once full.

They sat on the floor together, the silence only broken by Isadora's intermittent sobs and sighs. Severus was never one for comforting those in need, but he gently placed a hand on her shoulder and stroked her back in an attempt to sooth her.

"H-h-here," she managed to sputter, handing him the wrinkled piece of parchment she had been clinging to.

_Isadora,_

_It pains me to have to tell you this in a letter, but I feel I must be as expedient as possible. We can no longer continue to see each other. I have found a higher calling, a greater place in this world which requires my undivided attention. I think of it as soul-searching. It will make my family proud._

_Regulus_

A spark of anger flared up in Severus' chest as he carefully read over the note, amazed at how blunt it was, how cruel and uncaring Regulus had been. The boy had barely turned sixteen, what could he possibly have found that was more important than finishing his education and joining the Dark Lord as a fully-prepared wizard? If it was because he feared Lord Voldemort would not accept his relationship with Isadora, Regulus was sorely mistaken. Severus knew of a few Death Eaters who had recently been married, with the blessing of the Dark Lord, no less!

"Isadora, I'm so sorry," Severus whispered, and felt a sudden urge to hold her. It was quite unlike anything he had ever felt before, this need to comfort the girl he had come to know over the past year. Her head was tucked under his chin, and he wrapped both of his arms around her shaking body, still stroking her.

"I – I don't – what could he…" Her voice trailed off as she buried her face in his shoulder. He felt her hand clutching at the collar of his shirt. "My mother…"

Severus looked at her, confused. "What could your mother possibly have to do with this?" he asked.

Isadora shook her head and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "She – she'll kill me," she stammered, her voice thick. "She'll think this was m-my fault."

He had never been dumped in such a way as Regulus had done to Isadora, but he certainly knew the pain of losing a person he loved. The night he watched Lily slam the portrait of the Fat Lady in his face, unwilling to hear his apology, he felt very much the same way he imagined Isadora to be feeling; the difference being, he didn't have someone to go to, someone to confide in. Unsure of what he could say that would possibly make her feel better, Severus continued his ministrations, rocking her gently as they sat on the dusty floor of his flat.


	16. Far From Refuge

**16. Far From Refuge**

* * *

><p>Isadora passed through the rest of the summer holidays in a fog. The weather was some of the best seen in years, which would usually have cheered her greatly, but not this summer. Every day was spent cooped in her bedroom, hidden under the blankets, her curtains enchanted to remain sealed against the encroaching sunlight. The only time she ventured a glance outside was when it was raining; she relished in the thought of the world enduring her sufferings with her. She rarely left her room, and when she did, it was merely to use the bathroom or to fetch something to eat from the kitchen. Other than an occasional glimpse by her parents, the only person who ever saw her with any frequency was Severus. She would Apparate, without warning, into his tiny London flat, and sit quietly while he worked.<p>

It came as quite a shock when her father entered her bedroom one morning and sat on the bed next to her. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and whispered, "I've taken the liberty of purchasing your school materials from Diagon Alley, and have packed them all in your trunk to be taken to King's Cross tomorrow."

Slowly, Isadora rolled over so she was facing Zachary. She knew her eyes were red and puffy – they had been that way for weeks. "Tomorrow?" she croaked, her voice so rarely used nowadays.

Zachary looked alarmed as he asked, "You realize you begin your seventh year tomorrow, don't you?"

She shook her head and sat up, staring blankly at him. "I hadn't realized…" She couldn't finish the sentence.

"We know, Isadora."

Heat rose in her cheeks as she looked at her father, scared of the thought of her parents knowing what had befallen her the day she had taken her Apparition test. "How?" she whispered.

A smile appeared on Zachary's face as he stroked his daughter's hair. "You haven't left this room for ages, and when you do you barely speak a word. Your mother wrote to Mrs. Black weeks ago, demanding to know what had happened to Regulus. When his mother replied that he had disappeared, leaving nothing but a callous note as to why he had left, your mother and I could only assume that he had left you as well," he explained in a soft voice. "I wrote to Severus as well, but he only gave me a vague inclination as to what had happened."

Isadora was surprised to hear that her father had taken the trouble of writing to Severus, and even more so that the young man had kept her confidences so well. "You – you don't know where he has gone, do you? Regulus, I mean," she asked desperately.

Her father shook her head. "Nobody has seen him. His mother said that several books were missing from their library, most of which were written on the Dark Arts. She assumes he has left to join the Dark Lord, but none of us have seen him at any gatherings." There was a sadness in his eyes, a longing to help reassure his daughter that eventually things would be alright.

Isadora knew better than to ask if she was required to return to Hogwarts. She knew that in the long run, going back to school would take her mind off of her heartbreak, and eventually the pain would begin to subside as she surrounded herself with other students and preparations to take her N.E.W.T.'s. With some encouragement from her father, she soon rose from bed and slowly began packing for another year.

* * *

><p>Seventh year began as any other year at Hogwarts. The Sorting Hat sang of foes growing ever greater, and pressed once again for the unification of all houses against the evil that constantly threatened to tear the world apart. Class schedules were handed out; the seventh years were thrilled to find that they had quite a few free periods, but they all knew that quite quickly those periods would become tedious as they tried to constantly keep up with the towering stacks of homework which would be piled upon them as the year progressed.<p>

Upon departing from their Derbyshire home, Isadora learned that while her father was sympathetic towards her break-up with Regulus, her mother was not so inclined. Adelaide barely spoke a word to Isadora as she prepared to Apparate to King's Cross. It appeared her mother blamed Isadora for not being able to convince Regulus to stay with her, and no amount of arguing with Zachary would persuade her otherwise. The cold goodbye lit a fire in Isadora, a determination to prove her mother wrong in every other aspect, if she could not prove her wrong in her interpretation of Regulus' hasty departure.

The one thing Isadora had been looking forward to more than anything else was her continued Potions lessons with Severus. She had forgotten that he was not able to keep teaching her, as neither of them had the free time to spare, and was disappointed to hear that they would not have Friday nights to talk over a simmering cauldron. Thankfully, Severus knew how desperately Isadora needed someone to talk to about her situation, and allowed her to spend free periods with him.

Scarlett and Callum had started dating over the summer, much to Isadora's chagrin. In her current state of misery, she was unable to accept that anyone could be happy around her. Try as they might, both of her friends could do nothing to bolster Isadora's spirits, and so as the year ran its course, the three friends began to drift apart. Isadora paid the rift little attention. She knew neither of them had been offered positions amongst the ranks of the Death Eaters, and as she had slowly begun to focus more on her initiation into that dark circle, felt their departure from her life a necessary loss.

In her miserable state of mind, Isadora had completely forgotten about her trip to France over the summer, and had missed her opportunity to have another month learning from the wizarding cartographers. Luckily, her father had managed to send a letter alerting the chief cartographer of the sudden change of plan, and had instead requested that Isadora be allowed to write to the firm throughout the school year with any questions she may have on the subject. Because of the money Zachary Starbuck so graciously donated to the firm every year, the cartographers could hardly have said no.

During most of the fall, Isadora had collected the necessary living samples from the Hogwarts grounds to make a seasonal map of the surrounding area, for she knew the grounds themselves to be Unplottable. She sent her finished product to France; a week later, it was sent back with a letter congratulating her on her achievements. Severus reminded her that her chief concern should be with the production of the Muggle-born map she knew Lord Voldemort was going to ask her for, but Isadora could see no way of asking her friends in France how to create such a map without raising suspicions.

Fall quickly passed into winter, which brought along a horrible chill that no amount of fires could ward off. The Slytherin common room was colder than Isadora could ever remember it being. The lake, which could be seen from the windows of the common room and constantly bathed it in an eerie greenish glow, was completely still. None of the creatures living within the lake seemed keen on venturing nearer the surface than necessary – the ice was so thick the Slytherins could just barely see it. Isadora refused to return home for the Christmas holidays; her mother had yet to apologize for blaming her daughter for her heartbreak. She and Severus were one of only a few Slytherins who remained at school for the holidays, enjoying the rare quiet of the common room and the freedom with which they roamed the corridors.

Isadora was shocked to wake up one morning and discover that the ice in the lake had melted. When she passed through the entrance hall on her way to breakfast, she had glanced outside to see that the trees were beginning to blossom, and several students were out in the courtyard enjoying the warmth of a late March sun. After breakfast, the Heads of Houses asked that the seventh years remain behind, and Professor Slughorn began talking to the seventh-year Slytherins about preparation for their N.E.W.T. exams. Several of them, Isadora and Severus included, knew just how important passing their N.E.W.T.'s were – just because the Dark Lord despised all that Dumbledore stood for didn't mean he thought proper schooling was a waste of time. From what the two friends had picked up from their Death Eater parents and friends, Lord Voldemort placed better educated witches and wizards higher up in his ranks.

March faded quickly into April. Rain constantly pounded the castle, making it easier for the seventh years to stay cooped up in the library and the common room, pouring over books and seven years worth of notes in order to prepare for the nastiest examinations they would ever have to take. Towers of books threatened to collapse on their owners when they were disturbed. All of the lower years were effectually banished from the library by the constant hissing and shushing of the seventh years trying desperately to study, and by Madam Pince, who was enjoying the relative quiet of her domain.

Finally, one sunny day in June, the seventh years found themselves pacing the expanse of the courtyard and entrance hall, waiting impatiently to begin taking their N.E.W.T.'s. Barely anyone spoke as the teenagers furiously tried to remember every scrap of information they had ever been taught during their stay at Hogwarts, desperate to pass their tests and finally emerge into the wizarding world as adults. The two weeks of testing seemed to stretch for an eternity, at least while they were waiting to take the tests. Time seem to slip by faster than usual once actually in the exam; Isadora was sure she had completely forgotten several important questions on her Transfiguration written exam, and ended up triple-checking just to make sure.

And then, just like that, graduation day was upon them. A brilliant sun beamed down on the sloping lawn in front of the school, glimmering magnificently off the glass surface of the lake. Proud parents watched as their students marched triumphantly across an enormous stage, to a beaming Albus Dumbledore, who handed each their diploma as if he were the proudest parent in the bunch. The other professors sat behind the headmaster, clapping and crying joyfully as they watched their students accept their degrees. When the last student had returned to their seat, Professor Dumbledore removed his purple spangled hat and motioned for the students to do the same; with one great cheer, a rain of black hats fell over the crowd as the students celebrated their crowning achievement.


End file.
